#DC What is Success ? 15 years back during my campus interview the first question in the questionnaire was “What is your definition of success?” To which I had replied, “To live a peaceful, harmonious life of fulfillment in all spheres of life both personal and professional.” Today, 15 years later, my definition of success has changed a great deal. I do not believe in everlasting peace. Anything which has a note of permanence to it stagnates. The world functions on duality – positive and negative, success and failures, light and darkness, pain and pleasure, happiness and misery. Before I understood this, I used to wish things were easy when they were difficult. I used to wish for happiness when I felt sad. I used to feel bad that I was being challenged. Now I don’t wish that I am never challenged, for I realise I will never grow that way. I will never know the value of success if I do not face failure; never know the value of happiness if I do not feel sad now and then. To know the depth of the ocean you have to come to the surface of the ocean. Today I wish to be wiser and better. I don’t wish to have fewer problems, but I wish to gain more skills. I don’t wish for a disturbance-free life, but wish for the strength to face these disturbances. You set your target on something, say a project and when you have achieved it or very near achieving it, you are at peace with yourself for a while, but very soon a tremendous sense of restlessness sets in and you are looking at new possibilities – new heights to scale. Truly, anytime, life can be a beginning, an opportunity. You have already reset your axis and you feel you are back in step one in your scale and have a long upward climb in front of you. It does not mean you have achieved nothing, but it simply means your target has been reset. Success in the outside world is a temporary phenomenon. When you live depending on public opinion you are garlanded and welcomed one minute and discarded the next. It is easy to live in this world based on the world’s opinion, it is easy to live in solitude based on our own opinions, but greatness is when one learns to live with sensitivity in the midst of the crowd, but manages to retain the independence of his solitude. Society, in general, tends to equate success with material wealth and possessions. And while those things can be an outward sign of our own career or business success – or that of our family – it reflects only a small piece of the bigger picture that is our life. Rather than allowing others to define success for us, let’s take time to create our own definition and have the courage to measure our success in our own eyes, by standards that are meaningful for our lives. For, the world judges you by what you have achieved so far, whereas you judge yourself by what you are capable of achieving. Your newSuccess is a very personal feeling in that sense. So let us make a list of what success means to us by asking a few simple questions: Do I enjoy my life? Let us identify those little favourite things that bring us joy in our life, and be sure to incorporate them into our everyday life. Am I making a difference in the lives of others? Life becomes meaningful only when our actions impact others more than just us. Whether the gift we give is a listening ear, a skill we teach or an encouraging word, let us make a difference to at least one person every single day. Do I have enough perseverence to withstand challenges? If we focus only on our challenges without asking, “What am I to learn from this?” then we will continually feel frustrated and sorry for ourselves. Those who persevere, grow. And as we grow, we increase our capacity to handle more and have more opportunities that come into our life. Do I have an abundance of the things I need? Let us not aim for ‘enough’, but ‘more than enough’ of what we need – whether it’s time, money, love, space or other precious resources. It is only when we live in abundance, can we focus more clearly on what we want and share our time, talent, and love more generously. Am I successful in the eyes of the creator? When you are at peace with yourself HE is with you. When there is no split between what you are saying and doing, and what you want to be and do, you are living your life in alignment with the Creator. When you are able to quieten your noisy mind into silence, you hear the voice of the Creator and then your plans are but his plans for you. We may face many challenges and changes, but we will continue to have all the four seasons each year. Much of our success will lie in our attitude and ability to plant a new at the time of opportunity, to weed and remove the unwanted during testing times, to harvest and enjoy in moments of success, to get stronger, wiser, and better during times of transition. It is not what happens to us that determines our future, but it is how we respond to what happens to us and what we do about it. Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it – but sail we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor. In all areas, what we put into this world, we get back from it. So regardless of the results, we should be able to take full responsibility for our crop. Indeed, the highest form of maturity is accepting full responsibility for our lives.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 17:35:11 +0000
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