Happiness: Can it lead to success?

Hello Everyone!

I remember a joke – a rich man once met a beggar. He asked him why did he not work? The beggar asked why should he?

 “You will be richer” – said the man. The beggar asked what will that do.

“You will not have to beg and can make money fast” – said the man. The beggar repeated his question.

“You will be happy then.” – said the man. The beggar replied – “I do not work and I am still happy. Why should I work?”

The ultimate goal of everything is happiness and often we are happy doing nothing. But, now comes the important question – are we successful? The model of the beggar is not a guide as his happiness is temporary. We need something tangible rather than immeasurable happiness.

“We should focus on solid achievements rather than swift and synthetic happiness.”

–         Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Missile man of India

Happiness is swift and synthetic because it is achieved fast. But, it is not permanent. One work might give you happiness and another might give you happiness tomorrow.

One cannot define success from the perspective of happiness alone because one cannot define one tangible variable in terms of something immeasurable.

On the other hand, if we focus on achievements, we are focusing on tangible activities. Achievements need to be defined in such a way that it proves beneficial for the society as a whole. We need to give back certain portion (if not 100%) of what we took from the society.

By having achievements like this, we are not keeping happiness confined to only us (unlike the beggar) rather we are modifying the implementation of those happiness providers for the society. We are making the world happy and we are thus, making the world a better place to live. The happiness thus obtained is not only long lived but also worth the efforts.