Craving an outcome anchors you to a future that does not exist, and drags you from the peace of the present moment.
I don't need to be the first one to tell you that we live in a society that valorises productivity. If you aren't keeping up with the latest trends, if you don't have the newest tech, if you are not on a spiritual journey, are you even living your life? The problem with success is not success itself, but the meaning we attach to it.
That small 7 letter word is something that a lot of ourselves base our lives around. We tell ourselves "I want to be successful. I will do anything to achieve success." But in doing so, we are damaging ourselves.
Recently, my husband and I were having a chat about success coincidentally. During this conversation, I mentioned how success was something we were always running after. And the worst part was that it was a trap. Once you post something that resonates with a lot of people and gets a lot of engagement on social media, you feel great. The problem with that is that not every single one of your posts will receive the same reception. So you find yourself chasing that high of success and wanting to recreate it; all of this leading to making content for the likes and not in the name of authenticity.
A lot of us tend to get caught up in the numbers. Why? Because they seem to be the only measure of success. Whether it is your weight, your income, the amount of clients you have, or the amount of likes and comments on your most recent post. Guess what? It doesn't matter!
The problem is we equate success to this because this is the way most successful people thrive. They have billion dollar companies or clients all over the world. As a result, without knowing it, we start to associate our worth with numbers as well.
So how can we achieve success without sacrificing our own selves?
Success has been and always will be the same thing, and that’s the fulfillment of your values. So what’s shifting is not success, but values.
I wish I could say that the answer is as easy as believing in yourself, although it is a good place to start.
The truth is we have to understand why we feel the need to succeed so badly in the first place. Is this desire coming from a place of positivity or competition? Are you in line with your values or are you trying to prove to others just how capable you are?
When you start to understand why you want to succeed, you can start to understand yourself. I am not trying to say that being successful in your job or in your life is bad, but if you are always yearning for something more, you will forever be a prisoner of the next big thing.
Instead, establish your own personal definition of success. How would you feel most fulfilled?
Sometimes the answer could be as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables. Maybe it could be taking a small walk for 5 minutes everyday. Either way, when setting a goal for yourself, start small and work your way up.
Anything can be achieved as long as we have the willingness to pursue it. The rest is strategy.
There is a reason why I used a picture of a staircase in this blog post. It is because the pursuit of any type of success can often be a daunting and sometimes disorienting experience. You may question yourself along the way, and realign with your vision and goals. You will certainly have bumps along the way, but when you look back on just how far you have come, you will realize just how far you managed to climb.