Happiness = Success. Not the other way around

How many times has the following thought gone through your mind:

“If I just achieve this one thing, then I will be happy.”

If left uncorrected, this thinking will drive us to continually chase happiness as though it is fickle, as though it is something to obtain rather than something we can choose to have. 

How miserable must life be for people who are unhappy while chasing that day of happiness after receiving a promotion, or getting that shiny new Range Rover that gets 11 miles to the gallon? Anyone who has had this mentality can attest to how fleeting the feeling of happiness can be when it’s based on material achievement. 

Society commonly bases a person’s level of success on the number of things they are able to brag about. The award goes to the person who has the most nice things. 

For children whose parents think in this manner, whose parents have this ideal definition of success in their lives, happiness is that much harder to obtain. These children must work within their parents’ ideals and not stray from the lines. As a result, they don’t truly discover who they are outside of their parents’ plan for their lives. They commonly don’t pursue what truly makes them happy. They will always feel like they’re missing something, even if they did everything their parent hoped for them. 

Success does not necessarily mean material things. Happiness is the true definition of success.

Let’s agree to change the definition of success. The award for success goes to the most truly happy person. 

Are you happy?