Accomplishment in life can be found in a wide range of areas including family, volunteerism, creativity, career and business to name a few. It is common to hold up the accomplishments of others as sources of inspiration or motivation for our own goals and dreams. Sometimes our adulation of others is misguided.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

What is accomplished is only part of the story. How it is accomplished can be even more important. For example… wealth that is obtained through falsehoods and fraud is soiled, and tainted by the darker aspects of human nature. It is not worthy of adulation,  and certainly not emulation.

Depending on our interests and talents, it may take us years to learn the intricacies of our craft. Building up the requisite knowledge and experience requires perseverance. We may fail because of our lack of dedication and follow through.

We can sometimes overlook how various types of knowledge and skills interact, and are mutually supporting. Forming a strong foundation for future accomplishment.

It is the integration of those individual skills and abilities that creates the strength and flexibility needed for our accomplishments to be realized.

If not properly maintained our skills can erode with time, and hold us back from reaching our full potential.

We do not control all aspects of our environment. Sometimes road blocks appear. Adjusting our path or taking a significant detour may be required. Not properly assessing risks as they arise can lead to turmoil and stress.

Pursuing our dreams can feel like a lonely, arduous journey at times. Discovering our life purpose provides the energy, hope and faith to keep pressing forward.

Unrealistic expectations of large and immediate rewards can dominate our thinking…. and fuel disillusionment when they are not forthcoming. Accomplishment need not be tied to material acquisition.

Regardless of our financial and material accomplishments in life, we will leave behind the same amount as the richest among us. All of it. For many of us, materialism fully reveals its hollowness at the end of our journey. A cruel and untimely revelation.

Life can be full of vibrancy and variety. We can become a tapestry of equanimity and compassion. The most important and valuable accomplishments are of human connection.

Comparisons with others can make us fearful of not measuring up on some arbitrary scale. We risk withdrawal, not daring to dream and challenge ourselves. To hide from life, rather than embrace it.

Our inaction can lock our potential away, causing us to live in self-induced prisons. Pointing fingers. Blaming others.

We can pause… and look back on our lives. On where we’ve been and what we have accomplished. Ultimately none of that matters.

All we have is the gift of today. And, how we choose to use it. Only we know if we have the courage to turn and face the uncertainty that is tomorrow.

 Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. All of the other images were produced from RAW files using my standard process in post. This is the 1,336 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

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