How to Not Let Success Go to Your Head?
If you question anyone around on what their primary objective in life is, chances are the most common answer would be to achieve success. Most often, the term success is abused and very loosely used. Success is usually used to denote achievement of luxury and material wealth. To illustrate, some of the common goals include status increase, change to a higher job title, increase in pay or income, purchase of a luxury car or other recreational vehicles and travel to exotic locations.
Very often in the pursuit of such goals, individuals tend to forget other and more important aspects to life. They are not the only parties to crime. The society, media and other extrinsic influences lay a great impact on creation of your objectives. It often takes a long time to realize that these are not the vital needs in life and can be done away with. Those who realize it as early as possible learn to deal with things and save the rest of their lives. Some realize it much later and few others really don’t.
In the pursuit of material objectives, health, relationships, family and other similar components take a back seat. Once you reach your set goals, searching for the latter elements proves futile. People may give you a fleeting glance because you have ignored them for a better half of your life. Health may receive the most backlashes because it was not really preserved or protected in a way that it should be. Such is the case with others as well.
Your sense of proportion or greed is measured by your perception of life and your achievement of success. Before you set long or short term goals for yourself, ensure you take stock of all the positive things in life and give it a rational weightage. Categorize those that you cannot do away with and those that can be given secondary treatment. When you complete the classification either in black and white or in your mind, you will be left with realistic and rational goal setting. Pursuing these goals will ensure a sense of reality and you will not be left to repent somewhere in midlife.
Having said this, there is no denying on the need for money and emotional satisfaction. But drawing a line between glamorous materialism and emotional reality is essential and should be undertaken for holistic living. Sometimes intangibles are difficult to notice or measure but assume a lot of importance in life. Focusing and valuing such intangibles earn you a lot of mental satisfaction.