Living in Triumph
I would like to take some time to focus on one of my favorite words, TRIUMPHANT. Just by saying it I get a feeling of my greatness
Definition:
Triumph: (as a noun):
the act, fact, or condition of being victorious or triumphant; victory; conquest.
a significant success or noteworthy achievement; instance or occasion of victory.
exaltation resulting from victory; joy over success.
(as a verb w/o object)
to gain a victory; be victorious; win.
to gain mastery; prevail: “to triumph over fear.”
to be successful; achieve success.
to exult over victory; rejoice over success
Syn: celebration, joy, elation, jubilance, rejoicing, reveling, pride
Ant: disaster, failure, forfeit, loss, sadness, sorrow, unhappiness
Triumphant (adjective; describing a state of being):
Syn: champion, conquer, dominate, master, winning, lucky, swaggering.
Ant: depressed, discourage, sad, defeated, unsuccessful.
Do you feel what I mean…? Who wouldn’t want this word more a part of their life…?
Quote:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ~Theodore Roosevelt, 1910 from his speech, Citizen in the Republic
Thank you Teddy!! That’s a powerful message.
So I ask; do you feel triumph throughout the week? Are you stepping out of your comfort zone and taking risks and trying something new? Are you willing to get dirty and accept failure as a natural part of achievement? If not, what are you waiting for? No one is handed greatness it’s something that is earned through diligence, persistence, patience and playfully.
Triumph is a powerful state of being but let’s gain some understanding from its brother, Failure.
Failure sadly has a negative connotation in our society. Most of us are taught at a young age that we need to be the “best”, outshining others and that failure (losing) is not an option. As we “mature” into adulthood most of us continue this hyper-competitive philosophy in the workplace and elsewhere with an attitude of “win at all cost”, “second place is the first loser”, “cover your ass.” as we put others down to look good, etc..
I don’t know where the break occurred between failure and success but we can’t experience one without the other. They are true opposites just like up and down, light and dark and rich and poor.
What if we start understanding failure as is a form of success?
Roosevelt states: “…who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;…” Falling short of our goal provides vital information that helps us eventually triumph as long as we commit to staying in the arena Failure only occurs when we don’t learning from the wisdom of our mistakes.
The flip-side.
Here are the traits of a triumphant life from my experience:
Self talking in compassionate and encouraging ways allowing me to sustain inner peace.
Inhabiting an unshakable confidence about who I am and what I am here to do.
Living every event in terms of possibilities and an opportunity to grow.
Being a risk taker and being willing to experiment and play with life.
Knowing that I am 100% responsible for my experience.
Establishing open and honest communications with all people.
Consistently challenging myself.
Knowing that I have what it takes.
Learning to simply listen
Tools for Transformation:
How do we live in a state of Triumph? “Mind matters most” Triumph is a state of mind. The material success and/or the titles we achieve are only a physical manifestation of ourself belief.
In part of my Let Go of Your Bullsh*t workshops we do a visual meditation that helps us access the feelings of Triumph. It’s a powerful state. The more you practice and experience this mindset the more you be able to live in the benefits of it . Here is a guided meditation to get there. Give yourself about 15-20min to complete this and find a quiet place then begin.
Discovering your Triumphant Self – Meditation
Go a step further. Express your Triumphant Self. How? Go for a walk; go to the store, wash dishes, dance; whatever it takes to experience more of the feelings of your Triumphant Self. The more physicalized this state the stronger and more powerful the dialogue with your Triumphant Voice becomes. If one practices enough it will become second nature.
YOGA. Putting it into Practice:
We all have yoga poses that we view as “impossible” and tell ourselves “I can’t” in one form or another. What if we use these “impossible” poses as a means to discover and experience triumph?!
TRY THIS!
Take on one of these “impossible” poses. Start slow, don’t give yourself a deadline only the goal of its mastery. Learn the particulars of this posture. A great resource, go to YouTube and look it up. There are 1000’s of teaching videos on that very posture. Dedicate time each day or 4-5x a week and practice. Practice could mean backing away from the pose itself and strengthening the necessary muscle groups first.
For Example: I am have been working on handstand for over two years now and I still haven’t mastered it. Working diligence, persistence, patience and playfully and after thousands of failed attempts I realized (feedback) that I was lacking the required abdominal strength. So for several weeks every morning I did core exercises. I am still doing them. All this hard work has brought me much closer to my goal. I hope to have handstand mastered soon.
Go For it!! Or will your soul be one that “neither knows victory nor defeat.”?