Reaching for the stars

 Image courtesy of Victor Habbick at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Reaching for the stars

By Mark Wager

We are fascinated with the stars at night. Maybe it is the realisation that we play a very tiny part in this universe of ours or just that since we were babies we always wanted to reach out for something that appeared just beyond our grasp. Whatever the reason for the fascination we have always connected with the stars and have commonly used the concept of reaching for the stars as a metaphor for trying to make a success of our lives. We can take this one step further by using our connection with the stars to see just what type of a person we are, why some of us succeed, why others fail and some don’t seem to try at all.

These are the stages we need to go through in order to reach our own personal star

The oblivious

“If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some of us walk around this earth completely oblivious to the wonders not just above us but all around us. Those of us who do  will tell you that they are content but that is only because they are unaware of what the extent of their potential truly is. When faced with the undeniable truth they tend to react in one of two ways either denial or anger. With denial they refuse to believe that a better life exists for them and insist that success is a matter of luck and fate. “It always happens to me.. I’m just not destined to...” With anger they diminish and belittle the accomplishments of others in a desperate attempt to feel valued about  their own lives.

The star gazer.

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars” – Oscar Wilde

The star watcher is the stage that you go through when you achieve full awareness of the potential that life brings and want success but you are paralysed and cannot make the necessary moves. We often define ourselves by our life experiences and the views from the eyes of those around us. Sometimes this view we have of ourselves can be not just a burden but a prison, one from which our dreams cannot be realised.  All success originates from a sense of belief and if that belief is not present because we have not experienced it previously or the people in our lives do not believe in us then success is likely to be as far away from being realised as the stars are from our grasp. 

The star chaser.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world” – Harriet Tubman

Once we have that fundamental sense of belief then the watcher becomes the chaser. The success we want to attain is visible enough for us to know it is real; the belief has evolved into passion. It is at this stage when we start seeing results with each step, that our goals become more reachable and a voice remains within us reminding us that we are not born to fly. This is the shadow of the remains of the “oblivious” still haunting us. Ignore those voices and continue to look upwards because that is where your destiny resides.

The star maker.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves” – William Shakespeare

Once you reach for the stars you will realise that the light you saw in the sky was a reflection of a light that has been extinguished many years ago. Once you reach your goal you will be engulfed with a sense of achievement but soon that feeling will be replaced by emptiness when you realise that while it was the desire to reach the goal that started your journey, it was the climb itself that motivated you to continue to these great heights. That desire to climb that rests inside of you was there from the beginning and is still there and it desires you to move on from the goal that once you thought was impossible. It now requires another goal and this time something even more impossible. Never forget that if you can unleash this drive that is inherent in us all, then you can release a drive that will find its way no matter what. This drive will find its destiny and that is not to reach for the stars but  to become that great star that you were always meant to become.

About the Author:

Mark Wager is New Zealand's leading Leadership Coach. To contact Mark regarding MBTI Team Building or Leadership Coaching please use the enquiry form below