Will Success Bring You Happiness?

Success.  We all want it.  But why is it seem so hard to get?  When you Google the word success, the definition is probably a little different than what you had in mind.  Success, according to Google, is: the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. Hmmm. That definition doesn’t mention anything about being the true source of happiness. It just acknowledges an accomplishment.

The reason I mention this is so many of us strive to be successful because we think that if we are successful, then we will automatically be happy. However, put simply, that’s just not the case.

True or False:  Success will always bring me happiness?

FALSE: I had a client whose goal was to lose 20lbs.  When asked why, she said, “I will finally feel happy about my body.”  But what happened was she lost the 20lbs and still wasn’t satisfied with the results.  Due to being dissatisfied, she labeled losing the 20lbs as unsuccessful. 

Do you see the problem here? My client was, in fact, successful. She lost the 20lbs. But because her body didn’t look like she thought it would, she still wasn’t happy. And because she wasn’t happy, she felt unsuccessful. She was basing her success off of a feeling rather than the task.

Now, on the flip-side, I had a client who wanted to lose 10 lbs. She ended up not being successful at doing so BUT was thrilled that she lost 7lbs. Becasue she was so happy with losing 7lbs, she labeled it a success! When, in reality, she was unsuccessful at accomplishing her goal. Again, she was basing her success off of a feeling rather than the task at hand.

So, what it all boils down to…

In my opinion, success is hard to get because some of us only find something “successful” if it brings us a certain feeling, such as happiness. And that’s not how it works. You can still be successful at something, and still not feel successful. 

So, I offer you this. Be clear on what your success is. Know that success is NOT tied to a feeling or an emotion. Success is aimed towards a task or accomplishment. Whether or not that task brings you happiness is all up to you. So make sure you are basing the success of a goal on the accomplishment, not the emotion or feeling you think it will bring, 

Do that and you will start viewing yourself as a more successful person.