Well, I just happened to read something that I had written a few years ago called ‘A treat for my own eyes’, about my reaching of certain milestones in life and the story behind them.
And although tears of happiness and flashback rolled through my eyes, what I realised by the end of reading it is that the words like ‘achievements’, ‘goals’, ‘success’, ‘failure’ are so time relative and short-spanned in nature. What we perceive as success today, may well not be even near that in a few years to come! That does not in any way demean or discredit your achievements or the struggles behind them, but it only makes you realise that it is not ‘eternal’ and ‘everything’ in life. Success or failure, life moves on and so do you.
It is a part of life fully relevant at a particular time of your life. Once you cross that, the mind and heart automatically switch to ‘what next’ mode! Which then means no matter what you achieve and what you don’t, it’s relevant only in that point of time in your life. It’s momentary bliss. Wonderful, but not eternal. So then why tremble and fear for mistakes? For so called failures? We attach so much of fear and resistance to risk-taking and faltering that we just fail to realise that the very end result of it all, which in worst case be failure, is also very momentary! It comes and goes, but in fact leaves something behind to plunge from.
So that said, what is the point of writing this today? It just occurred to me that, many a time, we reach those points in day to day situations of life when defining these words like ‘success’ and ‘failure’ itself becomes challenging, relative and microscopic. Life till here was relatively simpler. Life’s goals were more or less fixed by the system that we were a part of. Meaning, while studying, to excel and bring accolades to yourself and your institution, was the goal. The next one was to fetch yourself some good work. Then to be the ideal worker and learn the craft. Then comes the real challenge now, as to how do you say you have learnt it all to be on your own two feet, when you know one lifetime will not be sufficient to learn it all. So that leaves you with an additional task of ‘defining your own goals’ now! You need to know when to start, when to stop, how much to do, what to do, and how to do! Back to the basics! So it’s a full circle of learning, implementing, and rejoicing the fruits of the two. When you are here, can you still locate one thing as success?
What is success? Being able to wake up everyday and go to work? Being able to touch lives with your knowledge? Being able to earn money? Being able to take sundays off? Being able to bring changes in people’s lives? Being able to contribute to your family and society? Being a good human being? Is my definition same as yours? What is it after all!
So if I am given a paper and a pen to write today about what will be the treat for my own eyes to see, read and feel good about myself, I don’t think I will be able to do that. Not because there are no struggles and corresponding accomplishments, but there are so many spread across several horizons of life that one particular definition of success does not fit it all!
Thus my friends, This lesson. This learning. This understanding. Reaching here.. is my success as on today! What is yours?!
