Walking Through Success: A Journey of Purpose and Present Living
Lately, I’ve been soul-searching on our society’s bizarre obsession with success.
One realization that has dawned on me over the past few years is that the more I fixate on the end result, the more likely I am to stumble on my journey toward achieving a goal or completing a project (It’s like trying to walk in high heels on an icy sidewalk — elegance goes out the window). Recently, I’ve been less stressed about flaunting my achievements and ideas on social media (aka the highlight reel of life). Instead, I’ve been experimenting with a different approach.
First and foremost, I’ve shifted my focus from grand goals or an idealized future life to my daily habits. As I mentioned in my previous blog post titled “Guide to Achieving Your Goals through Effective Habits (A Life Experiment),” I’ve come to appreciate the effectiveness of consistent daily efforts over convincing myself I can conquer the world in a month.
Over the past few years, as every creative does, I have had numerous showers of ideas, businesses, goals, missions, and visions (and when I say shower, I meant while in the shower). They were like relationships, starting with a honeymoon phase where I’d commit like I just found the love of my life. However, as with relationships, I’d eventually hit a phase where I’d notice red flags, face challenges, and realize that my perfect idea was as complicated as assembling IKEA furniture. I’d label it a failure, much like a breakup, and move on.
To sum it up, I’ve been head over heels for ideas, overly committed to perfecting them, but truth be told, they were as challenging and tedious as my least favorite job. Despite the seeming negativity, the more I fell for ideas and faced hurdles on the road to potential success, the more I realized they were all alike. I started understanding the ebb and flow, learning that where there were highs, there were inevitably lows. It turns out success isn’t about throwing confetti when you declare an idea victorious. Instead, it was about the little actions and motivations during the ups and downs of bringing that idea to life that revitalized me, making me feel content and accomplished.
Now, let’s talk about the success I had all wrong for years (which I will make the bold assumption it’s a similar concept most of us have). I used to think it was a retirement party, buying a house, earning a degree, or landing a job offer. I saw success as somewhere along the end of a line without realizing that success is inherent in each step taken along that line.
Every time you take a bet on yourself and your ideas, that is a success. Every instance you choose to put your phone down and engage in a meaningful conversation with your partner, that is success. Every time you push through fear and take action, even when terrified of failure, that, my friend, is success in itself.
Our societal constructions, built on consumerism and the pursuit of more rather than enough, have fostered an individualistic idea of success. We’ve misconstrued success as acquiring physical possessions or achieving specific ideals, neglecting the “purpose” part of the definition. Success, defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose, means that whether you win the race or trip and faceplant halfway through, you’ve achieved success if your purpose was running the race in the first place.
Perhaps delving deep into the meanings of the word “success,” I would have realized that all those past ideas I acted upon were my aims and purposes rather than merely means to success.
As Buddha wisely said, “At the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.” I’ve added this phrase to my daily checklist, reminding me that focusing solely on “achieving success” prevents me from appreciating the present. It’s about living each day with intention, or what we call “purpose,” so that, regardless of the day’s outcome, you succeed with grace by being intentional and present, by being aware of your existence and how it contributes to the vast universal energy.
Along the way, as we live in the present, we will come to the realization that our needs and desires are temporary. Along the way, we will let go of things that no longer suit our present. Leaving things may feel like the opposite of accomplishment, but caterpillars do it all the time to become butterflies, and so do we. If we stop getting caught in our fear of pivoting and changing and start focusing on taking action, even the tiniest action will lead us to a mental stage of accomplishment. Rather than chasing success, we will essentially be walking through it.
And here is where I say farewell, little fishies 🐟, thanks for reading.
P.D. I have exciting news: I’m launching a wellness platform on Instagram, “YuuzBox,” In which I will share more content like this; if you are into the “breathe in and breathe out,” follow us at @yuuzbox on Instagram for more upcoming content and news.
