I grew up with the WRONG idea of success.
I blame the school system for such a mindset.
Success was always about achieving a goal, but once achieved my happiness “tank” emptied again.
Is reaching the goal what gives us satisfaction?
Or does real satisfaction lie somewhere else?
Yes, life is about the setting of goals and trying to reach them. But for what?
I know from my personal experience that I am hardly ever satisfied.
Example:
- When I was in elementary school, success meant winning the “Student of the Month” award.
- In sports, success meant winning games and tournaments.
- During high school, success meant being accepted to a good college.
- During college, success meant graduation.
- After graduation, success was all about money.
There’s so much emptiness in these “success” metrics!
Why?
It’s true that working to reach our goals brings the best out of us. But what happens after we reach such big goal?
Today I measure success by much more than a defined goal.
I want to change education. This is what motivates me and gets me out of bed every morning. This is the passion that burns inside of me and what compels me to do what I do.
I’m not measuring success by a defined goal anymore — actually, I can’t, because this is now a cause that has different metrics. I want to improve people’s lives.
Today I can lose battles but still win the war.
My goal is not to beat my monstrous competition; my goal is to outlast them.
Ultimately I’m now competing against myself, constantly striving to become a better version of myself in order to fulfill this cause.
My cause is what moves me forward in the face of adversity and empowers me to persevere even when I feel like giving up.
For me, success is now “unreachable.”
My goal outlasts myself and my contributions. I’m working to build an unstoppable education initiative that, even if I’m no longer here or lack the strength to continue leading, the movement continues to live on.