努力不懈卻無法獲得滿足的成功追求──THE RELENTLESS, UNREWARDING PURSUIT OF SUCCESS
我們許多人在商業和專業領域中，都將生命定位到單一焦點-就是「追求成功」。但你是否曾經停下來認真思考過，成功到底是什麼呢？
這讓我想起那些喜歡追逐汽車的狗，當一輛車經過，狗就會迅速追趕。但狗是否曾想過，如果牠真的追到了車，又會怎麼樣呢？牠能對車做什麼嗎？在某種程度上，成功也像是如此。我們開始一個職業生涯，心中懷抱著某些目標和渴望，希望達成一些成就。但當我們實現了這些目標後，又會發生什麼事呢？
這讓我想起一位高層主管，他曾談論攀登那傳說中的「成功之梯」，唯獨當他到達頂端時，才發現梯子靠在錯誤的牆上。
在我自己的職業生涯中，我實現了早期設定的所有目標。成為一家報社的編輯？完成了。寫一篇雜誌專欄？完成了。成為一本雜誌的主編？完成了。寫一本書？完成了。我已經能夠實現每一個目標，而且還將有更多。但是，這些目標，即使加總在一起，是否會讓我感到完全的滿足，而達到了最終的成功呢？沒有，因為我總是還有更多的事情，也總是有其他人比我取得更多的成就 – 至少在我看來是這樣的。
成功有時會讓人感覺，像是在一場比賽中競爭，但終點線不斷地向遠處移動。晉升、加薪、專業上的認可，可能會讓人有暫時的滿足，但之後呢？我已經學習到，真正的成功，最終只能在於那位，賜予我們每天所用能力、興趣、恩賜和機會的主那裡才找得到。
正如申命記8章17-18節所勸戒的那樣：「恐怕你心裡說：這貨財是我力量、我能力得來的。你要記念耶和華 – 你的神，因為得貨財的力量是他給你的…。」我們可能需要對成功有一個新的定義或觀點，我認為聖經是最好的來源：
我們如何找到成功？聖經告訴我們，成功不是在於我們尋求「什麼」，而是在於我們尋求「誰」。「這律法書不可離開你的口，總要晝夜思想，好使你謹守遵行這書上所寫的一切話。如此，你的道路就可以亨通，凡事順利。」（約書亞記1章8節）
成功是設定正確的目標。使徒保羅，當時稱為掃羅，曾經擁有一切 – 威望、顯赫、權力。但遇見耶穌基督後，完全翻轉了他的價值觀，並且他的目標也永遠的改變了，他說：「只是我先前以為與我有益的，我現在因基督都當作有損的。不但如此，我也將萬事當作有損的，因我以認識我主基督耶穌為至寶。…」（腓立比書3章7-8節）
成功仍是一生的追求。保羅對成功有了新的理解，但他仍然致力於追求它，並將其視為自己的全新使命，且一直堅持到生命的最後。「這不是說我已經得著了，已經完全了；我乃是竭力追求，或者可以得著基督耶穌所以得著我的。弟兄們，我不是以為自己已經得著了，我只有一件事，就是忘記背後，努力面前的，向著標竿直跑，要得神在基督耶穌裡從上面召我來得的獎賞。」（腓立比書3章12-14節）
© 2023. Robert J. Tamasy 是企業巔峰: 給今日職場從箴言而來永恆的智慧 一書的作者。也與導師之心的作者David A. Stoddard 合著Tufting Legacies。編輯多本著作包括Mike Landry. Bob的書：透過苦難成長。Mike Landry. Bob的網站為www.bobtamasy-readywriterink.com
備註：如果你有聖經，想閱讀更多相關的內容，請考慮下面的經文：
傳道書1章2-4節
1:2 傳道者說：「虛空的虛空，虛空的虛空，凡事都是虛空。」
1:3 人一切的勞碌，就是他在日光之下的勞碌，有什麼益處呢？
1:4 一代過去，一代又來，地卻永遠長存。
傳道書 2章24-26節
2:24人莫強如吃喝，且在勞碌中享福，我看這也是出於神的手。
2:25論到吃用、享福，誰能勝過我呢？
2:26神喜悅誰，就給誰智慧、知識和喜樂；惟有罪人，神使他勞苦，叫他將所收聚的、所堆積的歸給神所喜悅的人。這也是虛空，也是捕風。
傳道書 5章18節
5:18我所見為善為美的，就是人在神賜他一生的日子吃喝，享受日光之下勞碌得來的好處，因為這是他的份。
哥林多前書3章9-11節
3:9 因為我們是與神同工的；你們是神所耕種的田地，所建造的房屋。
3:10我照神所給我的恩，好像一個聰明的工頭，立好了根基，有別人在上面建造；只是各人要謹慎怎樣在上面建造。
3:11因為那已經立好的根基，就是耶穌基督，此外沒有人能立別的根基。
歌羅西書3章17節
3:17無論做什麼，或說話或行事，都要奉主耶穌的名，藉著他感謝父神。
歌羅西書3章23-24節
3:23無論做什麼，都要從心裡做，像是給主做的，不是給人做的，
3:24因你們知道從主那裡必得著基業為賞賜；你們所事奉的乃是主基督。
反省與問題討論
- 你如何定義成功？你認為自己離實現成功還有多遠呢？
- 為什麼對許多人來說，成功似乎仍然很難實現？又為什麼有些人縱使取得了很多成就，但似乎永遠不夠呢？
- 如果我們認為並相信，真正賜予我們成功的能力，且透過各自的才能、恩賜和機會來創造財富的是上帝，那麼這將如何影響我們每天工作的方式呢？
- 怎樣默想這本「律法書」 – 聖經、上帝的話語 – 可以使我們興盛並實現「永恆的成功」呢？
THE RELENTLESS, UNREWARDING PURSUIT OF SUCCESS
By Robert J. Tamasy
Many of us in the business and professional world have oriented our lives to a singular focus – the pursuit of success. But have you ever stopped to seriously consider what success really is?
That thought reminds me of the dog that delights in chasing cars. One passes by and there goes the dog in rapid pursuit. But has the dog ever wondered what it would do if it actually caught the car? What would she do with it? In a sense, success is much the same. We embark on a career with certain goals and aspirations in mind, achievements we intend to attain. But what happens when we have attained them?
This brings to mind the top executive who would talk about climbing the proverbial “ladder of success,” only to discover when he reached the top that the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall.
In my own career, I attained all of the goals I had established early on. Be editor of a newspaper? Check. Write a magazine article? Check. Be editor of a magazine? Check. Write a book? Check. I have been able to accomplish each of those. And much more. But did any of those, even combined together, give me a sense of total fulfillment, of ultimate success? No, because there was always more that I could have done, always other people who had achieved more than I had – at least to my way of thinking.
Success can sometimes feel like competing in a race with the finish line being moved farther and farther away. Promotions, pay increases, professional recognition might satisfy for a moment or two, but then what? I have learned that true success ultimately is found only in the One who bestows the abilities, interests, gifts, and opportunities that we use each day.
As we are admonished in Deuteronomy 8:17-18, “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth….” We may need is a new definition or perspective on success. I can think of no better source for this than the Scriptures:
How do we find success? The Bible tells us success is not found in what we seek, but in Whom we seek. “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).
Success is setting the right goals. The apostle Paul, then known as Saul, had everything – prestige, prominence, power. But then, encountering Jesus Christ turned his values upside-down; his goals were changed forever, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…” (Philippians 3:7-8).
Success is still a lifelong pursuit. Paul gained a new understanding of what success means but remained devoted to it – his new mission – for the rest of his life. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me…. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).
© 2023. Robert J. Tamasy has written Marketplace Ambassadors: CBMC’s Continuing Legacy of Evangelism and Discipleship; Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart, coauthored with Ken Johnson; andThe Heart of Mentoring, coauthored with David A. Stoddard. Bob’s biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com.
Reflection/Discussion Questions
- How would you define success? How close do you think you are to attaining it?
- Why does it seem that for a lot of people success remains so elusive? Why is it that no matter how much some people accomplish, it never seems to be enough?
- If we consider – and believe – that it is God who truly gives us the ability to succeed, to produce wealth through our respective abilities, gifts, and opportunities, how should that affect the way we approach our work each day?
- In what ways would meditating on the “book of the Law” – the Bible, the Word of God – make it possible for us to prosper and achieve lasting success?
NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages:
Ecclesiastes 1:2-4,11, 2:24-26,5:18; 1 Corinthians 3:9-11; Colossians 3:17,23-24
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