What if the finish line we’re chasing was never real to begin with?

Bursting Our Bubbles

Look all around you and you’ll see many buried in the hustle and bustle of life. Somewhere along the way we were taught to chase success like oxygen. I grew up with the famous saying, “You can do anything you set your mind to do.” The bottom line was to work hard, stay focused and become successful. Across our diverse cultural boundaries, it’s the one script we’ve all inherited, and it is a script that promises fulfillment at the finish line.

But somewhere along the way, if we only care to admit it, the race stopped feeling worth it. We got the grades, the job, the recognition and something still felt deeply amiss. Have we been sold a lie? Is this what disillusionment feels like?

Maybe it’s not because we’ve failed….maybe it’s because we’ve been living off the wrong script all this time.

1. “Hard Work Always Pays Off.”

In life, effort does matter but effort isn’t everything. We love the comfort of cause and effect: if we grind long enough, good things must happen. Yet life is full of ups and downs, and it can sometimes feel frustratingly random. We see good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people…what a mystery!

Life has a way of telling its own story, and persistence is only a part of it. Hard work matters but it doesn’t always translate to straightforward results. Sometimes, it pays off; sometimes it just pays experience.

2. “You Can Have It All.”

Modern culture sold us the idea of perfect balance…a thriving career, a thriving family, a thriving self. But isn’t balance just a beautiful illusion?

Real life runs on trade-offs. Every “yes” is essentially a quiet “no” to something else. Every pursuit, ambition, or commitment demands a personal sacrifice.

What if success isn’t about having it all lined up perfectly, but about knowing what to gracefully let go of in each season of life?

3. “Failure Is Not an Option.”

Failure terrifies us because it strips away our illusion of control. I call it an illusion because so much lies beyond our reach. We had no say in the timing of our birth, the color of our eyes, or the family and country we were born into, and the same is true for many events that shape our lives. Yet even knowing this, the idea of imperfection and inevitable mistakes still unsettles us.

We all make mistakes and failure teaches what success hides. It humbles, redirects, and refines. Look closely, and you’ll find that almost every meaningful success carries the fingerprints of failure. You don’t avoid the valleys of life to win, you endure it to understand what winning really means.

4. “More Is Better.”

We equate “more” with progress. More money, followers, achievements, travel experiences, influence = success. But chasing “more” often just amplifies emptiness.

We fill our schedules to feel significant, yet growth isn’t always about expansion. Sometimes it’s about entering into seasons of dryness and pruning, learning what deserves to stay and what quietly doesn’t.

5. “I’ll Be Happy When…”

The ultimate lie of success is that joy lies just beyond the next milestone. I’m sure you know very well what I’m talking about. The new role, the bigger house, the next win….

But the problem is that the finish line always moves. Happiness deferred becomes happiness denied. Can we only be happy at the end of what we deem to be “success”? At some point, we craved so badly for what we now already have. Wouldn’t we be better off simply enjoying the ride?

Rethinking the Finish Line

Maybe success was never about getting ahead or about having it all, but holding onto what truly matters. When we start questioning the script we inherited, we begin to rewrite what success really means and maybe that’s where real fulfillment begins.

Sincerely,

Stephen Le, Lead Litigator