Are you successful? Think again!

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This question is quite common in our heads & surroundings. Isn't it?

When you read the title, you must have answered as yes or no or maybe.

If I be honest, only 2-5% of people reading this would have answered yes within their hearts.

I would be glad to know if the percentage is higher than I expected, but let's be honest and that most of you would have answered "no" or "maybe" and some of you may have started counting your achievements so far, only to evaluate whether you are successful or not.

I am no different, the word "success" was all about materialistic achievements, because we all have seen the same thing around, taught or made to believe things like higher education degrees, secure and good paying job, high package, branded clothes and shoes, German cars, travelling abroad, casual dining out, owning business, expansions, bank balance, investments and many more as achievements or rather "Success".

I believe you relate with this too, we all are influenced and manipulated to have these achievements as an illusion of "success". We don't realise we have been implanted by this mindset and thoughts by our own surroundings.

Let me share my own reality-check, I achieved most of the things from the list in my life. I really worked hard, managed to work round the clock, moved as fast as I can, chasing people to guide me, educate me, grabbed any opportunity to learn new skills, started earning & investing from young age, loaded my bank balance, travelled around, started business - failed one after another, one more business which earned good money but I had no time to breathe, continued in corporate - got praised, rewarded, enjoyed benefits & perks, kept proving myself valuable to the employer year on year, made my name in organisation and I was happy.

However the same question chased me - Was I really successful? Or happy? Or fulfilled?

For people around me - Yes, so I was enjoying that little fame from my people around, known ones and acting modest. Internally I didn't feel this as a success or even as an achievement.

I was a performer, but not successful... Simply because the source of my success was defined by others in my life and I was just working - exhausted and burnt out just to fulfil those measures, to feel applauded, rewarded & tagged as performer.

In all these years, I forgot to check whether these parameters of Success are really for me or not. I'm not denying the essence and importance of these materialistic achievements but I question the definition of success. 

Do you dare to define your own success? Are you willing to analyze what fulfills you as a person? Why is someone not tagged as successful until they have achieved all the materialistic things or fame?

In my belief, I am successful in various ways, every single day. 

When I wake up on time, cook my favourite dish, manage to tick off all from my to-do list, thrash those deadlines at work, spend time with family, indulge in creative activities, still manage to escape in space for self, prioritize my health and mental peace, bring sense of freedom & independence... This is success for me.

It may be as small as giving yourself an extra hour of sleep or as big as a promotion at work or expansion of your business line.

Take charge and define it... For yourself!

So next time when you think about success, count moments you enjoyed along with your achievements in life.

Location: New Delhi, Delhi, India

Comments

  1. Ekta10 June 2021 at 21:53

    Lovely thought Ekta, very rightly mentioned, we often misinterpret success with materialistic things but not with the individual. We also confuse ourselves with what we have and what we aspire 👍

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown28 June 2021 at 07:40

    Very well written...

    ReplyDelete

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