For ages we have been trained to follow a standard formula to success - Go to school, get a high paying job, find a partner, get married and start a family. And by following upon this path, you will have built a successful life; and once you're successful you'll be happy. You follow all the "rules" of life, only to discover that you've approached mid-life and yet you're still not completely happy. So, you go on to finding that next phase of success so you can finally attain happiness.
Perhaps this perspective worked well for some, and they are truly happy with the path upon which they followed. If you find yourself to be not fitting into this standard and are still seeking happiness in any area of life, perhaps the following lens will work better for you. Essentially your life will become whatever lens you see it from, so here you'll have to keep an open mind to understanding the correlation between success and happiness.
Success doesn’t bring happiness; happiness brings success. This is a new fact we will start seeing people adapting to soon as we approach the next phase of evolution.
Before learning new concepts and working on strategies, it important to be aware of where we currently stand. What is our current belief system?
Success = Hard work
Success = Making sacrifices
Success = Having to make a choice between happiness and career
Success = Money
Success = Feeling powerful
Success = Avoiding failure
Success = Competition
Success = Finding and working on flaws
Success = Either fully present or completely absent
Success = Opposite of passion
Now that we accept the current state as it is, we can consciously work towards shifting this mind-set. What do we need to believe in instead?
Be curious and kind instead of judgmental.
Build awareness of your emotions – how does something make you feel.
Focus on your strengths and talents and doing things that make you happy.
Be intentional about self-growth and discovering ways to grow your innate talents.
Create visions (and expand upon them) of what you ultimately want out of life.
Each day do a little more of what makes you feel productive and happy, that also connects you with your big picture vision.
Make sure you’re not waiting to be happy after you’ve achieved something.
Make sure you are enjoying the process of getting to your goal.
Celebrate every small achievement.
Add other activities that will aid to your feeling happy.
Be aware of when something doesn’t feel right, but don’t judge yourself or others when something is not right.
Be aware of all your feelings and make conscious choice of not reacting to negative emotions.
If the negative emotions seem to build up inside of you making you feel uncomfortable, intentionally release those emotion in a safe space and manner – deep breathing, meditation, auto-suggestions, writing or through dreaming.
Keep returning to your happy state of mind.
Each time you find yourself feeling happy, connect with your big picture vision of your goals and fulfilled desires.
Intentionally express gratitude for all the things you have, material or mental.
When taking action let go of the dreamy visionary state, instead maintain focus on your actions – Enjoy the process of working productively.
Be aware of how you feel when taking actions. Push yourself further each time but make sure not to overstrain yourself.
The moment you feel lost, confused or frustrated, become aware of that emotion, step back and intentionally return to centering yourself and finding your core of happiness.
Continue practicing balancing between calm state of mind and motivated & productive state of mind.
Maintain consistency and persistence.
Always DO things that make you happy.
Congratulations, you have achieved a successful state of mind. All material things begin to come into existence from here on. You are what you think and how you feel most of the time. With practice and persistence once your mind, body and soul are in sync with positive state, you begin to take aligned actions more and more often. This is what propels you to success, easily and effortlessly. But it does require persistence.
These steps described above are merely an overview of a "To-Do's". To achieve something we have to first believe that it is possible, then consciously focus on it, until we become what we believe in. So that we can begin to define success differently that what we are used to. So, how do you define success now?
Self-awareness = Authenticity
Authenticity = Acceptance
Acceptance = Confidence
Confidence = Curiosity for more
Curiosity for more = Learning
Learning = Growth
Growth = Goals
Goals = Visions and imaginations
Imaginations = Creativity
Creativity = Discovering talents
Discovering talents = Building competence
Building competence = Satisfaction
Satisfaction = Happiness
Happiness = Aligned actions
Aligned actions = Working with purpose
Working purpose = Feeling successful
Feeling successful = Exerting positive energy
Exerting positive energy = Connecting with others
Connecting with other = Building healthy network
Building healthy network = Opened doors to opportunities
Opportunities = Making conscious choices
Making conscious choices = Results
Results = Success!
You'll notice that this way of defining success is not a set structure, rather a chain-link procedure, that starts with self-awareness and ends in success. Note that this chain-link can be extended with more features in between, based on your lifestyle, beliefs and goals. The better you are able to define your unique connection, the easier it will be for you to reach success. Let's start by FEELING happy to FEEL successful. Once you start seeing the shift within yourself, be sure to help others achieve success with this noumenon and transform the future of work (and quality of living).
Quick tip: The best time for a calm and productive state of mind is as soon as you wake up in the morning (but not out of bed).
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