A Google search on «How to achieve success», which is usually associated with a state of grace, a serene and fortunate life, leads to almost 40 million results. The population of an average nation. Understandable, given that success is an almost natural goal for man, and furthermore in the era of "everything and now", ofMe, Me, Me, of appearances and rampant hyper-narcissism, is almost considered the hallmark of a successful life. And, conversely, the indelible mark of failure if the goal is not reached. With a fundamental misunderstanding: true success can be very different from a position that brings visibility, power, and money. We are sure that each of us knows people who can consider themselves "successful," but do not have theanxiety to demonstrate it or to secure a specific position with the associated benefits. They do it. With simplicity and serenity, and with the knowledge that you don't have to pay any price for any result.
Index of topics
SUCCESS
If we wanted to try to simplify, we could say that in the civilization of presenteeismSuccess has two sides. Being and appearing. And it's not a given that they coincide; the important thing is knowing how to distinguish them. Appearance-based success is made up of substantial, yet useful, things, and it's more than legitimate to pursue them. Career, money, power. In short, what in an existential report card we might call life's good results. Then there's being: that is, what remains of success. conquered in life, how much we pass on to those who come after us. If we had to choose, the second category is certainly more solid: success is not what we achieve, but what we leave behind.
HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL
Obviously, textbook advice on such a complex topic is full of banalities. We'll mention three, in the deluge of words, that seem to us among the most extravagant: take action, be healthy, wake up early. Without good health, you're going nowhere, and we could stop there. Just as indolence, or inaction, is a limitation in life in general, and not just for achieving success. Have good health: only for success? As for waking up early, we could make a list of people who have achieved extraordinary results in life by not getting up at dawn to run (and chase) their ambitions. Instead, why not dream of achieving success by chasing your own dreams? passions?
ALSO READ:Live lightly: don't miss the book written by our community Don't waste
SEARCH FOR SUCCESS
But even if we want to give all the advice as valid, one is missing, the most important one, which dates back to Aristotle"Failure is possible in many ways, while success, succeeding, is only possible in one way." What does it mean? Simple: success, achieving results, even with strong ambitions and enormous talent, are goals that cannot be achieved without a method. A path that, in fact, brings together many things. Including the risks of becoming obsessive, unscrupulous, compulsive. Inflating oneself like a balloon in the pursuit of success and in having achieved it, at least on paper.
And here we come to the real risk-waste of success. When we get sick Either to achieve it or because we don't know how to manage it. This can happen even at the first turns of the road, for example in the relationship between parents and children, affecting the entire family. Mothers and fathers who push their children to succeed, to always be top of the class, to make it, perhaps ignoring those behind them, do nothing but exhaust both. Parents and children. The former feel like helicopter pilots over their children; the latter need the freedom to make mistakes and get back up. If, how, and when they want.
OBSESSION WITH SUCCESS
The most dangerous part of success, once achieved, is its synonym: a drug. The literature on the subject tells us all about it and more, in the infinite number of characters. worn out by this form of addictionBut even current events help show us the nakedness, and if you will, the tragedy, of those who live only and forever in the bubble of success, to the point of becoming slaves to it. They can't do without it. Never. They can't feel excluded from their circle for even a second. Never. And so they suffer, they go into withdrawal, in the event of any, even trivial, fall from the podium. The mechanism of addiction to success is fueled, in particular, by the neurosis of technology and social media in particular. Another example: having more followers, more fans, more people looking for you in the swamp of the web, makes you feel successful. Conversely, if you don't have this sort of network of consensus (virtual, let's not forget), you risk going into troughYou're alone. But if you delve deeper, you risk discovering that precisely because of the dependence it creates, ungoverned, unmanaged, unsoftened success leads to loneliness. You're alone in front of the mirror in which you admire and admire yourself. Or you reject yourself, to the point of hating yourself.
Therefore, rather than the methods to be successful, we should focus, living in full freedom and responsibility the path we have chosen, including the goals, on what vaccinates us from risks of waste linked to success and its poor research and/or management. And here one word is enough, just one: balance. With many possible declinations: a sense of proportion, curiosity (which also means a desire to learn and not just to climb), passion, light-heartedness, knowledge, openness to others, a sense of sharing. Simple but very useful things for banish the demons of the virus that usually accompanies success: hubris. The greatest sin for the Greeks, one of the roads to Hell in the Divine Comedy by the very Christian Dante Alighieri. And hubris encompasses all the pathologies of success, first and foremost the fact that it is equivalent to a drug: it is a form of delusion of omnipotence, of feeling in a position to do anything and its opposite. Of being illuminated by the glittering exterior of success, but of dying out like a candle in the interior of the soul consumed by a happiness that in reality never arrived.
SUCCESS CELEBRATED QUOTES
"Try to become not a man of success, but rather a person of value."
Albert Einstein
Success may not necessarily coincide with value, nor even recognize it. Perhaps all this happens later, as has happened in the lives of many artists (a case in point: Vincent Van Gogh). But this mechanism, which brings into play a whole series of factors, from character to luck, only confirms the long-term nature of true success. Van Gogh, measuring his value against the yardstick of art history, has been recognized as one of the greatest artists of all time.
"Success is never final, failure is never fatal."
Winston Churchill
These are the words of a soldier, an optimist and a fighter. In life, unfortunately, failure can be fatal when you don't have the strength to get up and try a second chance. It takes courage and tenacity to never give up. As for the precariousness of success, you can measure it by the many stories of people who disappeared from the scene after they seemed like giants. A simple optical illusion.
"He who knows his goal feels strong."
Lao Tzu
Focusing on a goal, and not constantly squandering your energy, is already a first step on the road to solid and lasting success. Procrastinators, however, rarely build true success.
"The secret to success in life is to make your passion your hobby."
Mark Twain
True luxury: doing things with passion, which also means having fun. And what do you call that? Hasn't this happened in its mildest and most profound form?
"What we call fortune is a drunken and capricious woman. But above all, a blind one."
Miguel de Cervantes
There's no point in denying reality and feeling sorry for ourselves. The "C" factor matters in life, even when it comes to following the path to success. And here, all we can do is rely on the optimism of our willpower. For the rest, best wishes.
THE LITTLE THINGS THAT HELP US LIVE BETTER
Want to see a selection of our news?
- Sign up to our newsletter clicking here;
- We are also up Google News , activate the star to add us to your favorite sources;
- Follow us on Facebook, Social media coordinator e Pinterest.