The only way to success is through our own hard work. Why do we work hard? The simple answer would be for success and satisfaction. But who does that success and satisfaction go to?
It goes to ourselves.
We work hard for ourselves. If we do it for anything else, we will fail. If you fight for revenge or superiority, you will fail. The only way you can reach success is if you give everything you have for nothing but yourself. Not in a selfish kind of way. But don't do it for someone else's praise, or to prove others wrong. Do it simply because you know its right.
We can't live in the shadows of other's expectation. We will work hard our entire lives to live up to what they have expected of us. It is unreachable. We must set our own expectations and goals, and strive for them only. No one knows yourself better than you do. No one can set better goals for yourself than you.
Nothing feels better than to bask in the success due to our own hard work. But it feels even better when we work hard for the right reasons.
I agree and yet I disagree. A lot of the times, if not the majority of the time, I work hard for something other than myself, something that's bigger than myself. For instance, with running, yes I work hard for myself and the satisfaction I get by progressing, but on a grander scale I work hard for my team. I run so that my team can become the best it can be, so that we can reach new heights, together.
ReplyDeleteI think motivations differ for everything. It's hard to label one motivation as the "most important" or the determining factor between success and failure. When put under incredible pressure, people can do incredible things - sometimes good and sometimes bad. Sense of self is always important. If we don't keep ourselves as individuals in mind and we forget what drives us and what we perceive to be right or wrong then we become unhappy.
ReplyDeleteIt also depends on how you define failure and success. Is it completion of a project? Is it material goods? Is it individual happiness or the happiness of the loved ones around you? Maybe it's a balance of all of those things and a million others.
We've all heard the stories of the millionaires who don't have anyone they can trust and rely on their material goods, but who are never truly happy. Is that success?
What about the illegal Mexican immigrant worker who leaves his wife and two daughters behind to come to the US and clean bathrooms. He sense the American dollars home so his family can live more comfortably while he sleeps in a living room of a crowded house in south Philadelphia with 15 other illegal Mexicans. He succeeds in his tasks at work everyday. He succeeds in sending money back to his family in Mexico. But is he truly successful?
It depends on your definitions and your feelings. It's very dangerous to say that if you don't believe in one thing or don't work for one thing that you will not succeed.
Drugs addicts are another hard subject, where they need to work hard for themselves and for others. If they try to stop snorting pills because their parents and school says they should, or for their ex boyfriend, it'll be impossible for her to stop. But if they encourage her to seek help and give her tools to use to stop, it may help her realize her values. She has to want to stop doing them before she can get help. Then she can turn to friends, family, jobs and other forms of community to help her. Again, it's not solely self motivation, but sometimes the motivation of others.
We need to love ourselves before we can make others happy.
I agree with you both. I was more focusing on the fact that when we work towards things, we can't work towards them with bad intentions. For instance, if you are running in a race, and the only reason you make yourself go faster is to pass someone who you have a grudge against and you want to "show them" then most likely you won't succeed. But, if you let go of your grudge and run solely for the purpose to prove to yourself that you can do it, you will probably succeed. And if you are motivated by things that are harmful to yourself or others, you will also probably fail. I believe that measuring success is all up to the person. Like I said, you have your personal goals. Be it long term or short term. You measure your success based on these goals.
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