When success is worse than failure

Success is an interesting subject. If you check that word, or a synonym, you would seldom hear it in any old text. Did they say Moses was successful in fulfilling his task?

From last century, however, something happened and success turned into obsession. Do you know why? Looking at nature, you can see as success is natural. Even when there is a failure and a species goes wrong, nature changes into some kind of success... Go to any garden during 6 months and just watch there.

Of course, when humanity started to heavily intervene, the balance was lost, but still you will see all species trying to have success, which is more than survive; besides being able to live, any species want to reproduce and find a happy spot in this planet. And those who fail, eventually nature take care and turn into success too.

My guess is that, as with nature, with men and women: success used to be natural, normal, and so normal that nobody comments about it. It is like going to London and get amazed to listen to people speaking English... It is normal, nobody will even notice.

But with the present obsession for success, something different is happening. On one hand, people ARE experience failure, and heavily. It is hard for people to keep a big picture and they try and try, sacrificing family life, health and friends, without realizing what they are renouncing is part of real whole success; after all, one day we all retire and so, what is the point of having success just part of our lives? This kind of success at a long term is worse than failure.

On the other hand, success panic is around. So many young people are famous nowadays and some not so young too, becoming famous overnight without the right preparation... In nature, success happens after a while, sometimes a long time, because you need to be prepared to take over the responsibility of success. The best way to solve that is not evading or delaying success, but embracing it naturally. Not changing main habits is key and instead, using success to help you to do good things in the world. Enjoying without getting lots into it.

After all, success is natural, it has to come and when it comes, just live your life better.

While looking for balance in life, what you are really looking for is basically the experience of five things. You can call them feelings or emotions. They are basic qualities all human beings look for and here we will be talking about this wonderful idea Brian Bacon had on how to get them.

Which qualities? Satisfaction, Comfort, Contentment, Fulfilment and Bliss.

When you meet that point where your career correspond to your own passion, you are able to satisfy your life completely. That means, you will take so much joy from that work that you will feel it is really worth to wake up, get up and do that everyday. On the other hand, you can do well in a job without passion, but you will always want to have more of something else, that is, your passion will take you, or try to take you, somewhere else.

The feeling of comfort in the heart and mind comes when your career allows you to do charity too. That is the case of many consultants and coaches that I know, who use their jobs to help the world somehow. It is true; you do feel a kind of "I am really helping these people". If you just work and earn money, without using that for others in an altruistic way, that feeling won't come and you will be restless. If you do charity to others, but that charity does not help you in other areas of life, you will be disheartened at some point.

Beyond satisfaction there is contentment, the feeling that you don't need anything else, you just are! That comes when your acts of charity meet your vocation... That is much more than comfort, it is a supreme feeling that you are doing something important for the world. You have found your own truth in life. If you know your vocation but you don't apply that in charity, then you will do well, but you will feel you are still looking for something.

Beyond contentment, you have fulfilment in life - that is, you are in the right place doing the right things with the right heart and mind. This comes when your vocation and passion meet on the way. All of us have a call, but few of us have the passion for that, enough energy that enables us to break all bondages and do what we are really supposed to do.

Then, when you have the experience of all of that, you reach bliss in life. That is balance, when you are always smiling, your mind is always positive and your actions are constantly meaningful.

This is for your thoughts. Take care.

Balance in life

By Brian Bacon, the bliss of balance

Do you agree with this idea?

Brian is a good friend of many years, he is the founder of Oxford Leadership Academy, a company to which I am linked (and doing my best to start it in Colombia).

Take a look and think about it. See you next post.