What is success ?
Many of us in the western world think that success has a lot to do with the objects that you own ; a big house, a new car every 3 years, designer clothes. Many people get themselves into large amounts of debt in an attempt to prove their success (to themselves or others?) or work themselves to the bone so that they can afford these things. The trouble with that is that you are either too stressed from the debt or too worn out from the years of hard labour to enjoy these wonderful things.
There is no doubt that having these things to enjoy is a fantastic bonus of your financial success and that many truly successful people are enjoying and making the most of their lovely big houses, loving the drive that their new car provides and feeling great in their good quality clothes. However is that the only measure of success – the things you own ?
Of course it isn’t !
It is also measured by your weight, your dress size, how attractive you are, how good-looking your partner is, your children being top of the class and / or captain of the sports team, a big group of friends, thousands of followers on social media, thousands of likes on social media, 5 star holidays, being able to survive on 100 calories a day, being a “CEO” and so many other things that are “measured”.
We state that “once I am a size * I will be happy, when I earn £…… I will be happy, I just need a few more likes, a few more followers, when I buy that big house I will be happy, when I get bigger boobs I will be happy, when I get my teeth fixed I will be happy, when my son gets top marks in his exams he will be happy and that will make me happy”. So, we put off being happy until we have ticked off these achievements. We do not feel successful because we have not got it all.
And then we get there …….
We have everything we said we wanted in order to make us feel successful and happy so we should be truly, truly happy and a complete success right ?
Of course we’re not happy and of course we do not feel successful !
You cannot base your happiness on external things nor on other people because the more external things we get, the more we use others to make ourselves feel happy, the more we need in order to feel successful and happy - we just keep moving the goal posts because as living beings we are constantly evolving. Happiness is an inside job. Yes achieving your goals, having financial freedom and being able to own nice things makes life enjoyable but why put off your happiness until you have them, particularly when you know it will never be enough ?
Surely success is being happy, right here, right now. Success is enjoying your journey, wherever you may be and wherever you may be going. It’s living your life the way you want to, surrounded by things and people that facilitate your journey. Success is something different to all of us because we are all unique individuals, it can not be compared.
So, when you think of success do not look to what others have, what others are doing to measure your own success. Take a good, deep look at yourself and ask yourself “Am I Happy ?”. If the answer is yes you are truly successful – that does not mean you should stop striving for more but it does mean that you are doing great ! If the answer is no – what do you need to do in order to make yourself happier right now ? This may be to earn more money or lose some weight but do not put off being happy or feeling successful until you have reached your current goal – enjoy the getting there, of trying new things, of your little personal achievements and successes on the way, of making and learning from mistakes !
What is success ? Success is an inside job – enjoying your journey, being grateful for what you already have around you and living the life that you want. Your happiness is the truest measure of your success.
Here’s to all of our success and happiness - a happy, healthy lifestyle !
Lisa Johnson
Pearl Lifestyles