Most people go through life trying to be successful. They work hard but the success they seek never seems to come. They end up spending their days frustrated and in some extreme cases they may even feel like a failure much of the time. I am here to tell you that your life does not need to be that way.
Stop seeking society’s view of success. Very few people actually obtain this version of “success.” The reason most people fall short of society’s variety of success is because it is not really success at all. To prove my point, simply look at the people that are considered successful by society’s standards. Yes, they may have a large house with nice cars in the driveway and a big stack of money in front of them but if you were to peek behind the curtain of their success, you would find that many of these same people are unhappy and unfulfilled. They put on a good face when they go out into the world but behind it all their life is falling apart. I don’t know about you, but that does not sound like success at all. For me, the world can keep their success!
Instead create your own definition of success! Decide what success is for you! Stop chasing that fantasy that if you just work hard you will have that giant house and new cars along with all of the money you can dream of. I do believe in working hard but I also believe in working smart. That is a discussion for a different Principle though. For now, focus on what success is for you, not for the world. It may be measured in the time you spend with your family or the relationship you develop with a new friend. You may have volunteered at the local homeless shelter 2 times last week. That sounds like success. What about your health? Did you exercise this week? That’s being a success. Did you successfully resolve the disagreement you had with your husband or wife yesterday?
The simple fact is that you are probably successful in many areas of your life already. You simply need to learn to focus on these areas of your life and stop chasing the material and financial success that society tells us that you should be continuously striving for. Again, there is nothing wrong with having nice things in your life and you do need to make money to function in this world, but don’t make those things the central focus of your life. When you learn to focus on the other areas of your life that you are already successful in, then you will have these other things.
