Why Success is no Guarantee of Happiness
People measure success in different ways – by building a reputable business, nurturing strong relationships, accumulating academic degrees, gaining respectability in a profession, or building a family home. Therefore, we often hear the argument that success is about achieving happiness in one’s life. The following are the reasons why success in your life may not necessarily increase your happiness.
Success at Work isn’t Only About Money
Employers often cite money as an excellent incentive for workers. However, various research studies indicate that once you begin to earn enough money, it ceases to motivate you. It is impossible to deny the significance of a good salary, but when it comes to motivation, things aren’t that simple. Everyone needs to have a strong connection with what one does. Nonetheless, even if you do, it does not guarantee personal happiness. Most individuals will derive intrinsic motivation from just doing a good job. Therefore, the most common factors that motivate individuals include recognition of individual contributions, memories of previous accomplishments, and celebrating small victories.
Inconsistency with Personal Values
We all have our own core values, which usually define what lengths we’re prepared to go to to succeed. Ideally, the principles you find preferable should determine your choice of career or business. People often pursue careers that do not align with their values, especially when they have some personal troubles, such as debts or need to climb the corporate ladder faster than others. Therefore, misalignment of your values and your professional pursuits can get in the way of your happiness regardless of the level of success you will achieve. If you’re not sure what your values are, it is never too late to understand that your satisfaction and happiness are dependent on them.
Unattainable Success
It is natural for any person to pursue success at all costs. You may be after getting a promotion, establishing more business contacts, or attaining the highest academic grade. Consequently, we expend our energy on searching for happiness that we believe will accompany our triumphs. And while doing it, we rarely care about whether we are doing it efficiently. Consequently, your commitment to achieving different goals will prevent you from enjoying the little things in life which make you happy. The fanaticism with which you devote yourself to your career, school, or business often leads to a burnout, thus decreasing your chances of achieving your goals. So, it is advisable to take a break from your busy work schedule or purchase custom papers to allow you to spend more time with your family or go on a weekend trip with your friends. It is often liberating to realize that achieving the unachievable isn’t key to happiness.
Constantly Chasing Success
Everybody’s idea of happiness consists in being happy every single moment of your life and having no negative feelings. Consequently, we tend to pursue the perfect lives we dream about or see others living. In reality, the majority of people, including the richest billionaires and glamorous celebrities you idolize, experience problems and challenges. No matter what they have achieved, there is always something else to pursue in terms of work and life goals. Therefore, thinking that you can only be happy living a ‘successful life’ is wrong. You should also acknowledge that challenges are an inescapable part of our existence. Therefore, you should enjoy the few happy moments you have despite your perceived level of success.
Focusing on Making Progress is Better
Having invested a lot of time and effort into achieving a goal, people typically have a feeling of emptiness after realizing it. In psychology, it is the process of reaching an objective that has a more significant impact on someone’s happiness, not the result itself. Consequently, it is important that you focus on the progress you make rather than make achieving success a priority and continuously manage the circumstances attending its accomplishment. Pursuing progress implies that you will get empowered in multiple areas of life; this, in turn, will dramatically increase your chances of attaining happiness. Hence it follows that success does not equal happiness. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. If you are pleased with the direction of your life, you will be in a better position to achieve your ultimate goal, i.e. success.
Conclusion
Being successful in different areas of life may not guarantee you the happiness you anticipate. You may invest a lot of effort, go against your values, or regularly change your goals, but the end result will be the same – a feeling of emptiness, and discontentment. Therefore, it is essential to re-examine your approach and enjoy the process of pursuing success rather than expect it to happen at some point in the future.
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.
