The taste of success
Winston Churchill quote, “ success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
What Winston Churchill said is what we experience from early childhood.
As babies, when we learn to walk and take our first step, there is joy. We achieve success after falling several times while attempting to walk. Our parents capture the first milestone. The fall does not discourage us from giving up our effort to walk. In fact, we get more joy in trying to walk again and again until we can balance our body with no support.
As we grow up, the sense of fear creeps in.
When we attempt something, be it an examination, a job interview, an election, a challenging assignment, a surgery to cure a medical problem or any such activity, we are afraid of failure. The fear of failure grips us, and we fill our mind with negative emotions. We feel insecure. The “What if I fail “question prevents us from taking risks. But failure is a stepping stone to success. Failure teaches us and shows us the path to success.
To stumble before you walk is important. Embracing failure helps us to become stronger in the long run. Even when you know you don’t have a good chance of winning, you can pick yourself and try again.
Is success final?
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill.
Success can be small, but even a small win can help motivate and help us continue on our path to achieve our goals.
When you are in the trenches failing in your effort to achieve your goal, there is only one thing we need to remember. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Darkness does not last forever. We should never give up on our effort to achieve the goal. Anything which takes time and effort to achieve will always bring more joy when you achieve success. That taste of success will always linger in your mind. It will propel you to strive for more.
The more you allow fear gripping your mind, the more you resign yourself from success.
To me, the taste of genuine success came when eight years back, life suddenly came to a standstill and took me loads of positivity and grit to face the situation and come out of it. During a routine medical check-up, they detected my husband with cancer. According to the doctors, there were fewer chances of survival if the treatment did not work. We felt the earth slip below our feet when the doctors announced the results. We started immediately the treatment, and my husband went through multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, medicines. But what got him out of this was his strong willpower and spirituality. His firm belief in God kept him positive throughout the two years he suffered. As his caregiver, I could see him face this ordeal with courage. What helped me meet this was his positivity. It was only after five years when things stabilised, and he was out of danger, that we had the real taste of success. Our efforts of focusing on his health, visiting doctors, exploring alternate medications and taking all required precautions finally showed results. And to us, that was a success. But throughout this period, we remained positive. Family, friends, peers kept us encouraged to try several treatments.
The Happiness Advantage
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” — Albert Schweitzer.
Shawn Achor, a physiology researcher and author of the book, “The Happiness Advantage” says, that while we may think success will bring us happiness, the truth is that happiness brings us more success. According to his research, every time you experience success your brain changes what success means.
Positive feelings make the brain works better. It triggers motivation, mental focus, which can make you more successful.
Shawn Achor talks about the challenges and stress we face. But what is more important according to him is how we choose to handle them. Some people buckle down to stress and retreat within themselves. While successful people choose to surround themselves with friends, peers, family and strengthen their relationships.
Barriers to Success
The biggest barrier to achieving success is when you compare yourself to others. Knowing and understanding your personal strength and believing in it are more important. You cannot measure what you do by comparing yourself to others. The situations that others would have faced may be completely different than what are likely to face. Your motivation level may differ completely from someone you are trying to emulate.
The other barrier to success could be resistance and instant gratification. Face your fears and address them before they paralyse your progress.
Expecting instant rewards and ignoring long-term benefits can stall your efforts to be successful.
Swami Vivekananda, the great Indian philosopher and spiritual leader, said, “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life — think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”
To achieve any goal in life or turn your dreams into reality, you needs to think, dream, and live on that idea. Your every breath should only be about achieving your goal in life. It can become an obsession. Without dedication and focus, it is never possible to succeed and be successful in achieving your dreams.
“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” — Napoleon Hill.
What your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Success is about what you have achieved and earned it. It could be health, wealth, money, or happy life.
The secret formula for success.
Jack Canfield in his book, “The Success Principles Workbook” detail the principles that allow you to take control of outcomes. The fundamental principle he says are the following
1. Take 100% responsibility for your life
2. Determine your life purpose
3. Decide what you want to achieve
4. Use power of goal setting to achieve your vision
5. Use affirmations
6. Believe it’s possible
7. Take action
8. Everything you want on the other side of fear
9. Ask without fear of rejection
10. Ask for feedback early and after
11. Practice persistence.
Your success is dependent on you. To experience the taste of success you require to have an attitude of fearlessness and inspiration to stay on course. Never give up. Try and try and you will succeed.
