Chasing success, satisfaction, or both in our lives
We invest our time and energy in something we are passionate about. We always focus on what excites us. Most of us are eager to seek the approval of others to be happy. Some are confused about the purpose of what they do. Many are devoted to raising their children, while some are truly concerned about larger spheres of people to take care of. Some have designed how to live, while the majority live by taking others' lives as standard.
"If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you will fall into someone else’s plan." Jim Rohn
People talk about success. People express satisfaction. Very few are able to say they have achieved their goals and are living happily.
"Happiness is the ultimate goal of virtually all decisions we make in life." -Daniel Gilbert
Success is a measure normally decided by others. How much money we earn, what are our material possessions, what is our level of recognition, and how our children are settled are usually taken into consideration by the people around us to describe our success. Many things in between the above parameters have no meaning for outsiders, which we are suffering from.
Our clear goals, our hard work, our determination to be ahead of the crowd, and a regular income all contribute to success.
There is nothing wrong with creating wealth properly, achieving status, and living a modern life, but when peace, happiness, and togetherness are missing, the meaning of all we have erodes.
The drive for success is complete when we get appreciation from others, whether well-wishers, family members, or strangers. Approval of a new car by our colleagues gives us momentary happiness, but this smiling phase fades in a few days. Thus, success is often measured externally by comparison with other people.
Once one goal is achieved, we set another. Then comes the third goal, and life goes on like this. We can say that success is a milestone in a journey, not the ultimate.
Now the question is whether success and satisfaction are twins. It is not so. Both are the least interdependent and most highly independent variables. Satisfaction is the feeling of having all we need, and it comes from within. It never needs the approval of others. Satisfaction is strongly related to our own choices, coupled with our core values and deeper beliefs.
Mr. A has paid all costs for the higher education of his kids until completion. It is a success. The same person has established a business unit for the gainful engagement of deprived people to ensure their dignified living. He gets a feeling of fulfilment. It is a contribution. It emits rays of satisfaction.
Mr. B is a financially sound businessman, but he often feels something is missing in life. Possibly, it may be a good time for him to contribute outside the boundaries. Perhaps his kid is not settled. He is worried. Of course, life without peace is hard to adjust to for a long time. He has to find out how to feel okay in all respects.
Say Mr. C has just won the lottery. Happiness is initially very high. Soon, he goes back to his base level of happiness; it remains nothing more than the story of his life. Know that happiness is fully associated with satisfaction in life.
Success is a journey. Life has to move from station to station. Every time, we have to have new ideas, different strategies, varying groups of people, uneasy conditions, and so on. Taking all the pluses and minuses together, we arrive at success or failure. This cycle operates irrespective of our endeavours. Success is often a short-lived phenomenon. Failure also occurs to alert us,not to stop us.
When we chase success, keeping satisfaction in mind, it is a grand idea. But this scenario rarely happens. Some people are success-oriented, some are seeking happiness, some are venturing for both, and the remaining are indecisive about what to do.
The Path to success is endless, and eventually, success-minded people never count what they have. By and large, they remain restless and mostly fail to look into the purpose of being human.
A satisfied person counts what they have, expresses gratitude, and mostly finds the meaning of their existence in serving mankind by doing good deeds and keeping demands on their lives within boundaries.
The Above explanation remains open-ended because it is up to the individual how they decide to live their precious life.