Conquest, triumph, victory, achievement, accomplishment these are all synonymous to one thing and that is SUCCESS. That’s what most people generally run after. That’s what most of us aim to achieve. Don’t we? But does achieving success guarantee a very joyful life? For some, yes it does. What it does guarantee is respect, superiority, power and it would be nice to have all these.
Well if we consider the dictionary meaning, success is- “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”. According to me, the way we use it alters the meaning. It changes the definition to- “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose with a view of getting the approval of others”. It simply means success us wanting the world to tell us we’re okay, good or excellent. With success, our focus is external. We are dependent on the world to tell is when we should feel good. All this reflects our insecurities. So if anyone asks me do I want to succeed? My answer would be ‘NO’. It definitely will take people by surprise but I don’t want anyone’s approval to be happy.
What I do want is SATISFACTION. Because satisfaction is an internal experience. It’s when we know in our guts, that we have accomplished what we set out to do – even exceeded it. We have set our aspirations and we have met them. It gives us ultimate joy. Satisfaction can be defined as- “it is fulfilment of one’s wishes, expectations or needs or the pleasure derived from this”. Of course when we put this opinion in front of the world, people might doubt our ability. This is because people often speak of satisfaction as a negative thing. According to them, when we say we are satisfied, we often mean, we’re good enough, not great. In reality this isn’t the intention behind our words. Because if we are truly satisfied, there is absolutely no place for a negative element. When we are truly satisfied, we want to shout it from the rooftop with joy and tell the world about our fulfilled wishes & desires.
Success is often misunderstood to happiness but it is so not true. Success is the stepping stone to real happiness. Success is just an illusion whereas satisfaction opens door to everlasting happiness. There are so many successful figures who left the path of success to seek satisfaction. For example, Bill Gates. Gates is the former chief executive and chairman of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal computer software company. He is consistently ranked in the Forbes list of wealthiest people. He is the richest man in the world with net worth of US$ 79.2 billion. But today he is just the face of Microsoft and has turned from a super successful business magnate to a philanthropist. Another such example is our very own Chetan Bhagat, an Indian author, columnist, screenwriter and speaker. Bhagat, an alumnus of IIT Delhi & IIM Ahmedabad, is seen more as a youth icon than as an author. Four out of his six works have inspired Bollywood films. In 2008, THE NEW YORK TIMES cited Bhagat as “the biggest English language novelist in India’s history’’. TIME magazine named him as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world. He left his successful career as an investment banker to pursue his dream of becoming a writer.
The question is why did these so successful people gave up their flourishing & successful career for things like charity, passion? Well I think that no matter how far a man reaches, however much he accomplishes, if there still is an empty space somewhere in his heart then no amount of fortune or power can fill it. Success is temporary, it’s a short term achievement. Because after success the only thing that can be attained is satisfaction. Satisfaction has no boundaries. A man’s satisfaction lasts till his very last breath. Satisfaction is a state of fulfilment.
Every man begins his journey from the same very 1st step. Some climb faster and some climb slower. It is very easy to fold & give up when times are hard. Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the things right way, the dawn will come. Success requires struggling, taking risks and lifting yourself up time and time. It is true that once you achieve success, the view from the top is very beautiful. It is very truly said that, “if we had no winter, the spring wouldn’t be so pleasant’’. Here the winter symbolizes the period of struggle, waiting, pain. After such a harsh winter when the spring arrives, everything brightens up, everything is beautiful, the world is full of happy moments. The pleasant spring symbolizes the period of accomplishment, victory. But often people fail to realise that the real beauty is lies in living every season to the fullest and appreciating every moment. This real beauty is satisfaction.
The quest for success is the quest for approval. The quest for satisfaction on the other hand is the quest for fulfilment. Satisfied, we don’t need people to give us their opinion of what they think of us or our actions. We know we’re okay and we’re jazzed about getting on the next thing. The fascinating thing is that when we seek success, we can find it but we’re not always satisfied. Success either comes with it or is little importance to us. Success isn’t a bad thing but there’s more to life than it.
So I the end there’s just one thing I would like to say to you-
Life is short, and the opportunities are rare and we have to be vigilant in protecting them.
And not only the opportunities to succeed but the opportunity to laugh, to see the enchantment in the world and to live.
Because life doesn’t owe us anything, as a matter of fact, I think we owe something to the world.
And only if you can just believe……
– ANUJA . D . GAWNAR
i completely agree with u.. well written 🙂