Happiness is the feeling of being content in life which is only experienced when you have accomplished a particular goal in life. This makes success in life the ultimate reason for happiness in your life.
With so much of our happiness depending on ‘success,’ it is critical to find out what it means to be successful?
Success is a word that, if considered a literal term, does have a meaning but, in actuality, has no definitive meaning. Every person associates a unique meaning to it, not wrong, just different. The usually thought of description which comes to mind is to have massive wealth, big yachts, multimillion-dollar mansions, and the freedom to be ‘extravagant’ while enjoying a luxurious life
But not everyone needs all this to be content. Happiness, much like success, is also subjective, and each person can have their own definition of sorts. One thing to note here is that happiness and success are not only alike but also directly proportional. Brian Bonar has perfectly explained in his book The United States of Success the experiences in life that helped him understand, what his true understanding of success was and what were the things that brought him real jo
Success, Synonymous to Happiness
The need to succeed in life is something that is coded in the DNA of man, to be put in poetic terms. Success for you is either fame and fortune – to be admired by everyone anywhere you go – or it is just the goal of having enough to support your loved ones in a time of need. Generally, these are the two situations that might make you happy. You will be happy with what you have accomplished and can take it easy now. This is the relationship between success and happiness.
Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of the creative effort – Franklin D. Roosevelt
A person cannot achieve one without the other as you can only be happy after achieving a goal in your life. And if that goal you achieved brings you happiness, it becomes an achievement in your life.
But to be clear, being happy and content and having reached your goal of success is not an indicator that you should just stop at that point. One can always improve and aspire to go beyond the original plan once that benchmark is reached.
Like any other protagonist in a fiction story, Brian Bonar spent much of his childhood in an underprivileged household. But his life was not all upgrades and triumphs. He had many ups and downs. At one point, he started doubting every decision of his when he had to bid farewell to his wife after his divorce. For someone in his shoes, just owning one successful business would be the happy ending of the story. But not his, Brian did not stop there; he kept on persevering and now is the president of two Industry leading corporations and co-owner of another sixty-four companies with no indications of stopping his grind just yet.
A Deep Dive into Your Psyche
To understand your source of happiness, you need to analyze your thoughts and see what truly matters to you. What we think we want is not always the case in reality. You could think you really want that new Lamborghini, but once you think deeply about it, you might come to a different conclusion. You usually want things that surround you or those that you see, overshadowing what you really need.
Brian tells us in his autobiography that becoming rich was all that he cared about for a long time, resulting in his divorces and becoming estranged from his children. But that started to change when life brought challenges his way, such as helping his son with addiction or when he got custody of his 4-year-old son and Brian’s feelings that came with seeing his son grow up in front of him.
With that being stated, you have to find your own definition of happiness and success. This might take a while, but eventually, you will find your way. Once you do understand what really matters and what is it, you really think it means to succeed in life; it will then bring you true happiness, making you content with yourself
