By Molly Gordon

What if success is not something you achieve after you have taken certain steps, but an experience that flows right now from who you choose to be and how you choose to relate to the world?

This is probably not a new thought to most readers, yet it may be one that often seems more ideal than real.

Habits of the Mind

There are many reasons why the present experience of success eludes us.

For one thing, sometimes our choices simply fall short of our aspirations.

In those times, we do not experience success because we have not, at least for the moment, succeeded in our own eyes.

But what about the times when we have acted in good faith without tasting success?

What's going on when we taste such "unsuccessful" feelings as bitterness, fear, sadness, or cloying self-absorption.

What is up with that?

I propose that one factor is that we have not learned to experience success.

Like a compulsive overeater gulping a gourmet meal, we may be so overcome by our habitual hunger that we cannot taste the riches we've obtained.

And no matter how much we eat, we leave the table with a hungry spirit.

Perhaps this explains why so often the path to improved performance involves slowing down and savoring what is rather than speeding up in pursuit of what could be.

It's not that seeking after distant goals is wrong, but that the search must be founded in present commitments and values.

We must learn to claim success by experiencing it fully in the present moment.

Habits of the Heart

Moods are the habits of the heart. Unlike emotions, which arise in response to specific events, moods form a background that can shape our responses to events.

And like background music or cobwebs, we may not notice our own moods (or we may underestimate their power) even though the moods of others are readily apparent.

If moods operate in the background, we must bring them into the foreground in order to shift them. When we become aware of our moods, we have an opportunity to have our feelings rather than our feelings having us.

It sounds simple, yet anyone who has tried to get out from under the weight of a chronic mood can tell you it is no easy feat.

Rather than tackling energy draining moods head on, it can be helpful to observe and cultivate generative moods, moods in which you naturally feel resourceful, successful, whole.

Coaches are trained to help clients savor their successes, not for the sake of self-aggrandizement but to develop greater generativity, to promote both healthy ambition and well-being.

Too often we rush past our successes and onto the next challenge.

Like chronic over eaters whose cravings grow while satisfaction declines, we chase after adrenalizing challenges, scarcely aware of the colors, textures, and flavors of our current accomplishments.

The cost is that the more we accomplish, the more we dull our senses.

We lose the ability to discriminate between what is nourishing and what is habit-forming. We confuse engagement with stimulation.

Shifting this pattern entails the enticing assignment of noticing every delicious nuance of our wisest choices and most authentic efforts.

That's harder than it might seem, for it requires that we pause now and step off the merry-go-round of serial self-improvement so that we can tap into a more stable source of inspiration, purpose, and nourishment.

How would your life be different if you were meeting it with full awareness of your own resourcefulness and effectiveness?

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Image: "entrance to the realm of fantasy" by alicepopkorn - from article The Artist’s Unconscious and the Metaphor of Birth, By Cheryl Arutt.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

More articles by Molly Gordon.

She is also a contributor to the book 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, edited by David Riklan of SelfGrowth.com.

Molly Gordon is president of Shaboom Inc., a "coaching and training company that delivers hope, help, and hilarity to Accidental Entrepreneurs so that they can build a business that fits just-right."

She says, "Thanks to my checkered past, I'm able to draw road maps for other accidental entrepreneurs – people who love their work enough to risk working for themselves but who aren't particularly business oriented and who have a deep commitment to personal growth.

"I love that everything I learn (and every mistake I make) serves this audience. From The Work of Byron Katie to Embodied Intelligence, ontological coaching to Process Work to integral theory and methodology, there is delicious synergy among my vocation and avocations."

Visit her site: Accidental Entrepreneur's Guide to Self-Employment Success to get her free 31-page guide, Principles of Authentic Promotion.

She explains that her business name Shaboom refers to how "business success and personal growth are intertwined. The more you grow and develop personally, the more you achieve the emotional, physical, and spiritual well being you want, the more successful you will be at building a business where the person you have always wanted to be can do work you have always wanted to do. And that's very cool, indeed."

Her programs include:

The Way of the Accidental Entrepreneur, The Practical Path to a Business that Fits Just-Right
A testimonial: "Before I bought the program, I assumed you were pretty touchy-feely, “think positive” kind of coach, not much real world application stuff. What I discovered is that you have really amazing insights into the issues that I personally have as a single-person business, and I’ve been doing this off and on for over 30 years...I’d recommend The Way of the Accidental Entrepreneur to anyone who went into business because they loved what they do. Selling yourself and your skills is exhausting, demeaning, and often sucks the passion out of what used to feed your creativity and happiness. I’m thinking about my work in a completely different way and am excited to tell people my story once again." - Dick Carlson, Columbia, SC, USA.

The Self-Employment Telesummit
Transform under-earning into the joyful creation of meaningful wealth. Hear presentations by 18 of the world’s top heart-centered teachers. "Many accidental entrepreneurs are skilled in their areas of genius, but they need to get quickly up to speed on all other areas so they can be successful at making money when they need it, which is now," explains event creator Molly Gordon. "Meeting this need is what the Self Employment Telesummit is all about."

Video: Inner and outer transformation are keys to self-employment profits - "You need both inner and outer transformation to profit when you love your work but don't much love the business part.
     Profit Alchemy is a nine-month program that provides both."

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Related sites

The Inner Entrepreneur

The Inner Entrepreneur / Facebook

This is a publication of Talent Development Resources

TalentDevelop / Facebook

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