Greetings to all of my loyal readers who are taking the time out of their day to read my post.
I am writing this blog post sitting in my dorm room, again like last week, but on better terms. Last week I was feeling down and out about a lot of things happening, but I am in much better spirits this week. Swimming actually began, and we have been practicing non-stop (some two-a-day practices), and I am definitely feeling sore and tired.
Swimming, for me, is kind of like an escape. And everybody has their escape in some aspects. Whether it be video games, reading, painting, building something, crafting something, or even just watching a show. Every living person on this Earth has something to help them escape from the harsh world. My "escape" is swimming. For even two hours a day, when I am in that pool, I am not thinking about anything else except making my interval time or how I would improve my stroke. Not to mention how great it feels after a swim workout and I go and feast on a giant meal without gaining weight.
Anyway, it is very important to have an escape. If you're spending your entire days doing things only that you "have to do" and not allowing yourself time to do something you enjoy doing, you'll go crazy real fast. And it's not a good feeling.
One important thing that always stuck with me is a quote that says "Real success is doing what you love to do 90% of the day, and the other 10% of the day doing things that you HAVE to do."
Now, I don't really know how realistic this could be in our daily lives, but it is an interesting concept to think about. Doing things we do not want to do and have to do is inevitable- but, is it possible that we could really have that ratio of 90/10? If so, why do more people not do that?
My main focus with this blog at first was to make it a motivational blog, but now as time goes on, I want to make it motivational and educational. Therefore, in each of these posts, I am going to do a good bit of research. And the research I want to share with you today is the research I did on success and happiness.
To start with the topic of success, it is important to know that success is different for each and every human being that lives on this planet. No idea of success is the same. Your idea of success is different than your parents', your friends', and the media's.
The media will tell you that success is when you start your own business, have a great body, and drive around luxury cars. And this idea reflects on people that listen to the media. These same people will look down on others who have a less extravagant view about success.
Success to me in my life is different from you who is reading this. Your idea of success could be in a different ballpark than mine.
For example, I love to write and I love the arts. There are people, whether they are friends or family or acquaintances, that look down on me starting my own blog. They think it is "a waste of time" or "a stupid idea". There are people that I grew up with or that I go to school with now that won't even follow this blog, even though they know it's mine. They think that because it isn't their view of success, it is stupid and pointless.
I was reading an article online about the true meaning of success (by Paul Jun). He brought up some very good points about the "misperceptions of success".
In his article, he wrote that you can find happiness when you purchase that new phone or the smell of that new car. You can find happiness when you break that athletic record or win the big game. And that happiness high feels great. But, it is temporary.
Paul Jun says in his article titled 'The Real Meaning of Success' that, "The truth, however, is that success is ephemeral in all areas of life. The smell of the new car will fade. The new phone will be replaced — sooner, rather than later — by a more advanced, sleeker, lighter, and better one. Someone younger, stronger, or smarter will eventually come and beat your record."
The first step in being successful is for you to actually find out what your idea of success is. And successes can be broken down into long term and short term successes. I'll start off and share mine:
My SHORT TERM success is that I want to work out at least once a day, spend time with God each day, spread happiness through others as my day goes on, and practice Spanish.
My LONG TERM success is that I want to have a job where I am helping people, close with God, traveling to different countries/cities, and making a decent sum of money. (I know money isn't everything, but to be able to be financially free is definitely a goal of mine.) (Also to travel, you need the money. I want to make it to the point in my life where I don't have to think twice about the money for traveling, I just hop in a plane and go.) (Or to have the money to help a friend or family member out in need and not think twice about the cost, just give.)
I've also been told that success is the ability of getting out of bed in the morning and being excited for the day. Life gets hard, and by now we all know that and can see it. Life will get you on the ground a knock you down until you can't breathe. It's inevitable. Nobody reading this article will have an easy life. Easy lives do not exist.
But, to be able to have a career that you find enjoyable enough to be excited to get out of bed on a Monday morning is success. Jobs drain most people. Every single day all day you will be at work for most of the rest of your life. Why pick a job/ stay with a job you hate? It's important to take some time for yourself to think about what career is the perfect one for you. (It's not too late to make a different career path, you have one life to live, why spend any more time doing something you despise?)
There are two forms of happiness, too.
There is short term happiness (new car, new job, new TV, new house, new toy.)
And there is long term happiness (spouse and kids, stable income at a job you love, helping others, staying close to God.)
Nothing is wrong with short term happiness. And you will be experiencing a lot of short term happinesses in your life. You will get a new car, move out of your parents' house to your own place, and get a new job. It's bound to happen. But it is very important to realize that these exciting feelings of short term happiness are temporary. (That feeling of a new short term success can be addicting, and that is why people keep buying and buying. Because they want to feel that short term happiness thrill over and over. And it loses value each time.) Those butterflies will go away, and then you'll be back in your daily life. Therefore, make sure your daily life (your long term happiness) is something that actually makes you happy.
It is also very important to sit down (and even write out) the things that don't make you happy. Now, I know that nobody likes to do chores, but you'll have to do chores the rest of your adult life (part of that 10%!). What makes you unhappy in your life, and if you can put your finger on it, why are you still allowing it to be in your life?
Something unhappy in your life could be a bad friend, or a bad boss, or an insecurity about your weight, or a lack of social life (possibly DUE to work). When you can think of your unhappinesses, it is vital to be able to work on how to fix that aspect of your life. Work on it. It won't just go away if you don't pay attention to it. I promise that won't help.
For example, you have a job that you hate because your boss verbally abuses you. Ok, you've realized that this is an aspect of your life that is causing you to be unhappy. Think of steps such as:
A) How can I approach this situation to make it easier to enjoy work? If I spoke with my boss about how I am feeling, will that change anything, or will he just yell at me more? (Trust me, I have been in this situation before.)
(If this situation is the case, you need to do whatever it takes you get out of the toxic environment that you are in. Just because the job pays well, doesn't mean you deserve to be abused. Money only goes so far. It is much more important to be mentally healthy than it is to make good money into a workplace that causes you harm.)
B) What are the steps I can make to help myself and achieve a healthier work environment, or happiness? (It could be going to a higher up in the company to address the issue, going to Human Resources, moving branches in a company, or possibly even finding a new job.)
It is a vital thing to organize your life and your thoughts. There is nothing wrong with sitting down with a piece of paper and diagraming out your life. Your thoughts, prayers, goals, accomplished goals, and future endeavors.
After more research on the topic of success, I saw this one article mentioning that the true meaning of success is "Wholeness". And what does this exactly mean? I didn't know myself, and I was interested. It is said on unity.org by Rev. Jesse Herriott, "A whole person is happy, healthy, peaceful, creative, loved, appreciated, giving, fulfilled, desired, and compassionate.
True happiness and true success comes through the soul. This is why material items cannot cause true happiness, because they aren't through the soul. Material items are simple, short term pleasures, and only that.
But through the soul means what is on the inside, and not the outside. It is not the luxurious brand of clothes you have on your body, nor is it the car you drive or the yacht you have. It isn't.
It is your daily life and daily tasks that you do. It is the mindset you have and the mental healthiness. That is success. Success and material items are not even in the same ballpark. They are too far off concepts that do not even relate to each other AT ALL.
Now that I am nearing the end of my blog post, I just really hope that the person who is reading this can take away that material goods are meaningless. It is hard to believe, but it is true. Real success and real happiness comes from within, your mindset, goals, and spirituality. You are the only one that can control your happiness, with whatever path you might be on in life.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a great start to the week.
God bless,
-TJO
Comments
Post a Comment