Reversing Success
…finding joy instead of happiness
Most people live their lives with the idea if they succeed at X then they will be happy. Often times they get X and are miserable. At times they do not get X and they are miserable.
That is human nature…
I recently in my LinkedIn feed saw a quote
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.”- Albert Schweitzer, the German physician, Nobel Peace Prize winner and polymath
Schweitzer reverses the success belief by teaching us that it really starts with happiness. We must be happy in order to get to success.
I would replace his words with my word,
“Success is not the key to joy. Joy is the key to success.”
So what is the difference?
Happiness is a momentary outward expression. It is an expression of internal pleasure. To be joyful requires inner peace and contentment. It might not express itself as an outward expression.
Often personal sacrifice or achievement can bring on happiness. Joy is often triggered by caring for others, gratitude for receiving, and overall thankfulness.
Happiness is momentary and often based on external circumsatnces BUT joy lasts because it is based on inner peace.
Happiness is often in service of self or good fortune. Joy is most often found in service of others.
A great example of the difference is winning a billion dollar lottery vs. creating a billion dollar successful business.
By winning the lottery you will be very happy. Many studies have shown that unfortunately after some time the level of happiness of the person is about the same as it was before they won. They will regress to their base level of happiness.
A person who creates a billion dollar business has to do it over time. They will struggle they will sweat. They will need to get help from others along the way. If they are not an egomaniac they will experience the struggles and joy of that creation over a longtime. They will become a different person. A more joyful person. (I am hopeful that most people attain this level of joy BUT I think some settle for the happiness and miss the joy part.)
I wish you joy on your journey toward success.
My four cents…
Why the picture?
I have had this picture for a while and could not find a perfect place to use it. What greater joy can there be to hold a child in your hand and give them a kiss on the forehead? Notice how both are changed. Also note that the areas that are lit up in the parent are different from the child.
