Trying to figure out how to be successful in life can seem like a rhetorical question, and people try to answer it in a million different ways. Being successful means extremely different things to different people, based on all kinds of factors. For example, how you were raised, what you’re interested in/what are your likes and dislikes, and who’s influenced you the most in your past. Finding success may be a specific moment in time for some people, and for others, it may be over a very long period of time that isn’t as obvious.
Finding success may be a specific moment in time for some people, and for others, it may be over a very long period of time that isn’t as obvious.
What I believe to be one of the most important characteristics of success is being happy. The quality of a day can go up by a thousand percent if you decide to be happy, and measuring our lives as being successful or not fully depends on whether we lived our lives in a genuinely happy state of being. There are tons of research that has been done to say that most people actually value being happy and satisfied with life way more than they value success, and that happiness is one of the key drivers to identify what being successful actually means.
One great way to be able to feel happy is to not focus on what isn’t going on. A lot of people spend significant parts of their days thinking and worrying about things that either are out of their control or aren’t currently going on. One way to get around doing this is to practice mindfulness, which can be very beneficial because as we focus on the experiences we’re having in the present, we can enjoy them more and live in the moment, which leads to much more happiness and a lot less meaningless stress.
Another way to feel happy and to be successful in your own pursuit of happiness is to think about one thing every day that made you laugh/smile/feel happy before you fall asleep. This is especially important on days when you couldn’t get everything you wanted done, or didn’t feel like you were able to accomplish what you were looking to do. By focusing on the thing/things that made you feel good that day, even if it was just a moment of happiness or a puppy you walked by, this can cause you to go to bed with a much better mindset and help you wake up ready to go for the next day.
It’s time that people put the pursuit of happiness before that of success. Being able to walk through your day feeling happy will allow you to feel successful, no matter your income or what model car you drive. Happiness is the cause for success, and it’s important to remember that with every waking moment.