After what felt like a mad dash to make it to and through the holidays sane and in one piece, it seems like I’ve barely had the chance to take half a breath before being inundated with advice on the importance of goal setting and new year’s resolution making as well as offers for tips and resources designed to help me achieve success in the year ahead.

There is nothing wrong with goal setting.  It’s just that some days, it seems that our world is so focused on achievement and success that life’s journey feels more like a race and the constant pressure to maintain the pace can become a bit overwhelming to say the least.  Sometimes it’s hard to muster the energy to keep up.  Is the prize even worth it?  After stumbling upon a reading on success versus fruitfulness, I came to realize the answer to that question depends on what you are striving for.

“There is a great difference between successful and fruitfulness.  Success comes from strength, control, and respectability.  A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities.  Success brings many rewards and often fame.  Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability.  And fruits are unique.  A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching another’s wounds.  Let’s remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness.” – Henri Nouwen

This passage led me on a journey to learn more about the difference between success and fruitfulness.  Here’s what I’ve discovered.

Success is mainly outward focused.  It’s about meeting expectations, either those of others or ones we impose upon ourselves.  Success is based on how we compare to others or how we measure up to our previous performances.  Success is fickle and fleeting.  There is no peace in the race for success.

Fruitfulness, on the other hand, is more inward and upward focused.  It’s about appreciating our experiences, our uniqueness and our giftedness as well as the One from whom we receive these gifts.  It’s about understanding and acknowledging our experiences and employing our gifts to become who we are meant to be.  And the journey towards fruitfulness can lead to joy and contentment.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to achieve success.  The danger lies in placing too much focus on the endeavor.  It’s all a matter of maintaining perspective and balance.

This year, my goal is to be both fruitful and successful.  However, my hope is that any success I achieve will be a bi-product of my efforts to be fruitful, not the driving force.

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