Getting is Sexy, Keeping...not so much!

For many people, the key to success in our society is acquiring things.  That's sexy.  Getting stuff you want is a very sexy thing.  Advertisers spend billions of dollars to convince us what it is that we want, and when we get them, we win.  

But, the actual key to having a life of success, filled with what you want, is not the actual getting of the things, but the maintaining of the things.  That is not sexy.  Maintenance is not sexy.  

It's not the losing weight that is the largest challenge for most people, it's the keeping it off.  It's not the buying of the beautiful home that's the challenge.  It's maintaining the home, the up keep, the maintenance, the taxes that's the challenge.  It's not getting the great job that makes for a successful life.  It's keeping the great job that makes for a successful life.  It's not finding the relationship that makes you happy that's so hard.  It's maintaining the level of happiness in the relationship that's the challenge.  It's not hiring the great employee that's the challenge.  It's keeping the great employee.  Maintaining their level of commitment and passion and engagement that becomes hard. 

So, if maintenance is the key to success, what are the steps to maintaining in life?  This is a strategy focused on maintaining what you have, that you still want.

1.  Get what you want.

2.  Be grateful that you have what you want.  (A hugely underrated step, but very powerful)

3.  Set an intention around how long you'd like to keep it.

4.  Make the commitment to what it would take and be realistic about what has to happen in order to maintain.  Be sure you have the support, financial, physical, emotional, legal that you may need.

5.  Enroll and engage other people to help.  Create an ecology around you, a people, a support system, an environment that supports you in maintaining that much desired state of being/ having/ doing.

6.  Never take for granted what it took to get what it is that you want, and acknowledge yourself for the ability to maintain it.

I wish you joy and wonder in the maintenance of it all!