What really is success? The cliched, yet timelessly relevant answers, are ‘It means different things to different people’ and ‘It is a journey, not a destination’. However, what is astonishing is not the clarity of definitions; rather, it is how much we fail to live by them.
A simple yet profound way to look at success is if you get to do everyday what you want to do, then you are successful - Daily. Success is hardly looked at as a joyful activity. It is often measured by the outcome – money earned, social status, lifestyle, etc. True joy actually lies in being able to enjoy the process, the activities that will lead us to the desired outcomes.
True joy lies in loving the things we do. If you are a working professional, an entrepreneur, or even a homemaker, real joy comes from being totally engaged with the daily chores that lead to creating certain milestones, which are celebrated as and when attained. The everyday celebration of being totally engaged with what we do is sorely missed by many, as the actions are accompanied by the anxiety to perform.
There is something we can learn from cricket. Every batter comes out to bat with the intention of scoring big runs, and every bowler wants to take a bagful of wickets. Yet, both need to simply focus on the next delivery. Sportspeople understand Control The Controllable better than a lot of working professionals. The nature of any sport trains you to simply focus on the next moment. It is hazardous in sports to look far too ahead, and so is it in life and business. Success though is not just in the professional aspects. Real joy lies in being able to celebrate the mundane moments with our family as well as near and dear ones. We take our relationships for granted. We practice what is called as ‘distracted relationships’, with our mind constantly engaged in looking for external validation and worrying about outcomes. Dinner table conversations with family devoid of social media engagements via our smart phones can provide us with priceless moments of happiness, which only ask for your attention and not status.
Success thus in many ways lies in the small happy moments that are at our beck and call every single day of our life. The things that we take for granted – family, friends, health – when nurtured with care actually lay the foundation for achieving our ambitious desires.
So, do you simply know this? You may have thousands of social media connections, but the ones whom you can count on to bail you of trouble at any given point can be counted on your fingers? Know them, thank them, nurture them and stand by them.
(Hariharan Iyer is a seasoned Motivational Speaker, Corporate Trainer and Author of multiple management books. He is the Founder-Creator of Hariharan’s School Of Success Education (HSSE) - www.thehsse.com. He is popularly referred to as The Enter-Trainer®. He can be reached on hariharan@thehsse.com)
