Does your success satisfy you?
Everybody wants to be successful. Success gives rise to satisfaction, and satisfaction makes our life seem more meaningful. This satisfaction stems from underlying uniqueness exhibited by an individual. An individual can achieve success by setting and attaining goals that complement his/her unique strengths and traits.
Everyone has his own yardstick for measuring his success. In the eyes of the world, success is defined by “what a person has”, but in reality it is measured by “what a person is”. Normally, when something we desire comes true, then we start thinking of ourselves as successful individuals. But it is commonly observed that people still don’t become truly happy. People believe that those who are successful are happy. But a deeper observation will find it to be not true. Success becomes a burden for people after sometime.
New desires take shape in our minds every day. We try to fulfill those desires and believe that once we fulfill a desire, then we will be truly happy. But, once that desire is fulfilled, again a new sense of dissatisfaction overtakes us.
It means that in the modern world, we are becoming more successful but our sense of satisfaction is becoming lesser. Our outer achievements keep increasing but our inner happiness keeps decreasing. A person’s uniqueness gets lost in his outer success.
If success makes life meaningful, only then it will give a feeling of contentment. The biggest desire of life is to be meaningful. If life does not feel meaningful then even huge successes are worth nothing to a person. Meaningfulness is related to the underlying unique nature of a human being. Meaningfulness is achieved when a person’s uniqueness is expressed. Meaningfulness implies – contentment, happiness, and to feel alive.
Every individual is unique and nobody else can be what he/she is. We should set our goals based on our unique traits, strengths and abilities. We should set goals which express our uniqueness. When we are able to express our uniqueness then we will truly feel happy after getting successful.
Following points are important to achieve happiness and satisfaction:
1.Self-Confidence: Those who trust themselves can accomplish any task. Self-confidence is the first key to success. A person should have confidence in himself and believe in the power of his aatma (the innerself, soul). We should believe that our aatma is a part of all-encompassing Paramatma (the Supreme Soul) and we are connected to Paramatma’s omnipresent powers. We can find a way to channel Paramatma’s powers in ourselves to accomplish our task.
2. Trust in God: Although, self-confidence itself is like having faith in God. But, we should also remember Lord Krishna’s statement that he is always present to protect us and accompanies us in every step of the way. Having faith gives an individual positive attitude and enthusiasm to carry out a task.
3. Pledge: Taking a pledge gives strength to an individual. We should take a pledge when we begin a task. Taking a pledge means that we promise ourselves that we will stop at nothing to accomplish a task whatever be the obstructions in the way, whatever criticism we get or tensions we have to deal with. Taking a pledge strengthens our resolve and makes our will power stronger.
4. Dedication: We should have a firm dedication towards our objectives; dedication which is so strong that it makes us sacrifice everything to achieve our goal. Our goals should also be worthy enough for our complete dedication.
5. Courage: Courage makes us fearless. Only a fearless person can live his life on his own terms. Only a courageous person can dream about success. It is natural to encounter challenges in our lives. We should demolish our fears and march ahead fearlessly. We should always be courageous; whatever be the situation, our determination should never waver.
6. Develop appropriate mental disposition as per the situation: To be successful, appropriate mental disposition should be developed as per the time and situation. Stubborn, wayward, and restive individuals can never be successful because such persons are prisoners of their own beliefs and thoughts and cannot think beyond them. A person who is free from such negative traits can hear the footsteps of time, accept the situation and utilize the situation to his advantage. That is why, anybody who desires to be successful should keep a positive mindset and cultivate appropriate mental disposition as per the situation. We should face the challenges with the faith that something positive will come out of it. That is why Pujya Gurudev used to say “When mental disposition changes then situation itself changes.”
In this way, we can achieve true success. We should identify our uniqueness and set goals which complement our unique traits. When we achieve the goals by following these guidelines, our success will indeed bring us true satisfaction and everlasting happiness.
Jatin Mukherjee, who later became known as Bagha Jatin, along with his friend Hemchandra Ghosh once went to meet Swami Vivekanand. They asked Swamiji several questions related to religion and spirituality. Swami ji paused and replied – “Hem, slaves cannot choose to have any religion. Go and first free your Mother India, then think about your deliverance.” These words had a great impact on the sentiments of the young men. Both chose to tread the path of revolution and with their sacrifices, became famous personalities.
A flock of birds mocked at the clouds, “Brothers! What an awful life you lead. You lift the heavy weight of water from one place and pour it out at another. This is like the life of a laborer.” Clouds laughed and said, “These drops of rain water alone create life upon the earth, which you and we enjoy. When we pour out rain, the entire world feels contentment. If we have to labor a bit for the benefit of this beautiful creation by Supreme Soul, we must feel thankful and blessed.”
Divine souls also lead their lives like these clouds. They extract righteous inspirations from the divine source and pour them over inner beings of those who bear the desire to serve the society.
The first form of happiness is sound health; one should partake nutritious, balanced food to keep the body healthy. So it is essential to maintain the health of the mind and body simultaneously. - Rig Veda
To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. - Lord Buddha
NEVER win people with Arguments, rather defeat them with your Smile! Because people who always wish to Argue with you, cannot bear your Silence!!