“How are you feeling Milo? You crossed over the ‘Trust’ bridge. It’s a very unusual bridge isn’t it?”
At this invitation to talk, Milo felt more than willing to offload his problems.
“I didn’t cross it very quickly. I held on too tightly. I didn’t do it very well. I couldn’t even work out the solution to your story. I’m a failure.”
“Now listen, Milo,” Epic replied, his voice stern but benevolent, “You are definitely not a failure. Having a feeling that you failed is just that – a feeling. A feeling passes. You are not a feeling. You are so much more.”
Sensing Milo’s unease, Epic offered a smile, “Success is not where you are at this moment but it is in the direction that you are moving. You are on a great journey and you are successful right now, with every little step you take.……
……..I have crossed the ‘Trust’ bridge many times. Many creatures won’t cross at all and look for a different way. You crossed and continued! You are doing very well! ……
Bolstered by Epic’s kind words, Milo felt inspired and eager to carry on. No longer did he hover over the abyss of disappointment and despair. Instead, he moved with a bounce in his step and hope in his heart.
Epic knows that Milo has labelled himself a failure because of a feeling of failure. But this feeling is not a fact, it is just a feeling which will pass.
Milo has created this feeling of failure because he has set himself impossibly high standards and expectations of success, which includes not making mistakes or getting things wrong.
So Epic makes it much easier for Milo to experience success by giving him a new definition / rule for success.
‘Success is not where you stand, but it is the direction that you are moving in’.
Epic wants to show Milo that he is being successful just by moving forward towards his goals, regardless of how he feels. Even when he feels like a failure, he is still being successful because he is moving forward.
Epic knows that Milo will persevere until he succeeds. With this new definition it is Milo’s tenacity and perseverance to keep going, despite the obstacles and setbacks, which makes him a success.
Instead of success being an occasional experience, he can now experience it regularly when he takes action towards what he wants to achieve.
If you are self critical and struggle to feel successful this is a superb definition to adopt. You will feel much more successful and happier more often.