Paying The Cost Of Success
It is not a simple world to live in these days, regardless of any part of the world one finds himself. People are grasping the challenges of the uncertain times we are living in. Everyone wants success or a measure of success to achieve. So let us hasten to find out the cost of success. I believe that we all will agree with me that there is a cost we must pay to achieve any level of success we dream of. Maybe where we may disagree a bit might be on how much cost we pay for success and in which ways we pay the price.
How Much Success Cost Are You Willing To Pay?
I think that many of us feel compromised in so many ways. For instance, our values, principles, and personal beliefs have been compromised by the level of allegiance we pay to the pursuit of success or money, power, and fame. In other to answer the question of how much cost are we willing to pay for success, we have to be self-aware of what success means to us as individuals. Paying the cost of success can be paid with the plan of what we want to achieve and how we want to achieve it.
Again, we have to understand when others think we are a success, and when we are convinced in our mind that we are a success without other people’s measure of our success. The reason to have the conviction and contentment is that of the world’s definition of success, which is in material possessions, money, and wealth accumulations. Importantly, for success to be meaningful and satisfactory, it has to be a personal thing.
Conformity Success Syndrome
What do I mean by conformity success syndrome? I’m referring to a situation where we want to adopt or have adopted the one size fits all mentality. Where people live a life of discontentment because of competing and comparing with Jones’s kind of success, without knowing the cost that the Jone’s have paid or still paying for their success level.
Some people have the prideful outlook that says silently that if your success is not like their success, to them you’re not a success. Because they will grade you by the kind of cars you have, the size of your house, your neighborhood, the clothes you wear and so forth. It is the mentality that suggests that if your success is not like my success that you’re not successful, regardless of the cost of your success. From my way of reasoning, that’s one of the major reasons why today’s world has drifted to a point of no return in their worship or crazy pursuit of money, and anything money can buy at the expense of moral principles and healthy balance.
It gives me some concern that with all the knowledge we have, so many people never get an understanding of how to live a purposeful life. Some never take time to analyze life and to understand what matters and the best way to live a fulfilled life. They are not thinking of what kind of legacy they are going to leave behind. How many people are living a life of contentment without the crazy chase for material things at the detriment of moral values? We can’t as individuals know the actual cost of success and its satisfaction when it is based on society’s specifications of what success is and is not. https://medium.com/w-i-t/the-price-you-will-have-to-pay-for-your-success-7b0bd97e378f
Let me quote the remarkable success definition made by George Sand during the ninth- century in turbulent Europe, she wrote and I quote, “ One is happy because of one’s own efforts, once one knows the ingredients of happiness —-simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and above all, a clear conscience. Happiness is no vague dream, of that I now feel certain. By the proper use of experience and thought one can draw much from oneself, by determination and patience one can even restore one’s health let us live life as it is, and not be ungrateful.” That’s a powerful quote if we read it with understanding.
Success Is Meant To Be Enjoyed
Success is meant to be enjoyed. How many successful people do you know who are truly happy and fulfilled? Considering the cost of achieving any level of success, one needs to enjoy it, celebrate it, and share the fruits, and be grateful to the divine power that sustained the person during the process. But unfortunately, many people don’t take the time or even have the time to enjoy their success in whichever area the success is achieved. Take, for instance, a career person who is very talented, efficient, and dedicated to his career. As a result, the person is moving very fast through promotions to higher positions, as success will always attract success.
Such a person will be working so hard to keep the positions so far attained and the ones waiting ahead. Consequently, the (executive) will spend his/her time more at work and meetings, seminars, and less time with family or other essential personal priorities. Part of the cost for his or her success will include losing some sleep, time, money, rest, also the person might not have the time to eat well-prepared meals; which can eventually lead to weight gain/loss and eventual health issues later on. In this example, one can equally identify other costs of success for the executive or anybody in a prominent position or aspiring for such high positions. Because every effort is invested in maintaining the success lather Career Change: 10 Tips for Success
One of the reasons some people pay heavy tolls for success is when the person has no thoughtful plan on how to articulate a vision for a balanced living. Many people I know who have been making some gains or steady progress in their professional life, sometimes share their honest vulnerabilities, their failures, and lack of happiness. Most successful people attest to the emptiness and lack of fulfillment they feel within, partially due to what is considered personal priorities being neglected. Some describe their lives as living on the wheel or on the air. You can only imagine what that means to anybody with young a family with young children, when much focus is made for professional success at the cost of every other thing .
Pay What You Can Afford and Willing to Pay for Success
It is easy for people to be failing inside while their outside seems successful. What do I mean by that? I’m imagining a situation where a person who is success-driven can drift off without realizing it. Imagine a situation where some people are paying the price or cost of their success by losing their health, at the age of forties, fifties, sixties, and seventies because of negligence, and with some job-related ailments. And remember how far they have been pulled out to the sea. Some are paying it with failing relationships, a broken marriage, lost spiritual connection, and a sense of emptiness. Yet, there is no genuine sense of fulfillment, or peace of mind.
These are facts and some people’s realities these days. I understand that some of us might not agree with me. Experience. Admittedly, experience has shown that it is not the best decision for any person to neglect, spouse, children, parents, friends, family, spiritual connection to focus only on the pursuit of material needs. There are consequences for such a decision. And this reminds me of a Biblical passage that states, “What shall it profit a man if he can gain the whole world and lose his or her soul?” And another passage said that “the love of money is the root of all evil.”
In Conclusion
I will encourage us to plan our lives according to our vision or purpose for life. Also, we have to be mature to know actually what success means to one as an individual. I also want to encourage us to be satisfied with what we have. Avoid being living by other people’s dictates for you. Live to enjoy whatever level of success you have achieved with your family and friends in good health. Do not postpone your enjoyment or thanksgiving day.
To avoid drifting to a life of success that doesn’t satisfy, and paying a high cost of success, we have to have some limits. No matter the enticements, we have the right to avoid over-committing ourselves by taking more than we should. And we should be self-aware, I have emphasized this point several times in most of my posts. Being self-aware can help us from being easily deceived. Above all, live and pursue success in such a way that you can avoid regrets at the end! Enjoy your success, enjoy the process, and be thankful for the privilege!