The Simple Yet Profound Way to Approach Success
Lessons from Deepak Chopra
What does success mean to you? Is it a fulfilling relationship? A career with stability and good prospects? A healthy body and mind? We all have made up our own definition of success along the way, but it’s so important to take stock of how you are approaching the journey and to learn to enjoy the process of becoming who you are, rather than chasing after a goal for the sake of it.
It deeply moved and enlightened me when I realised success could be so simple. At the end of the day, if you look at all the things we strive for — whether it’s a relationship, career or anything else, we do that so as to feel joy and fulfilment. If that’s the end goal, so why don’t we start from there?
Why not start with joy?
Based on Deepak’s research about abundance and joy, nearly half of our joy is determined by our daily choices and actions. We have so much that we can tap into right here and now. What I’m learning more and more each day is to build that deep trust and connection with myself, that unshakeable knowing that things will always work out for me.
Tapping into joy starts with simple awareness. And with awareness comes choice. Choices that can either empower you, disempower you or keep things status quo. And what will you choose?
“The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years.”— Deepak Chopra
We all like to set big goals and look into the future, hoping that the day of reaching a certain goal would mean that we are successful, and ‘look successful’. I’ve put ‘look’ as our society has conditioned us with expectations of a certain way to be and to achieve, which we all tend to take it on unconsciously.
But the years of societal and personal expectations takes time to unlearn. And the quickest and simplest way you can help yourself with this is to make time for things that brings you joy each day. Trust that the best thing you can do for your future is to be present, and to feel good now.
From my personal experience, things start to flow and align when you maintain a state of positive expectations and inner joy. Joy can be practiced in so many ways. In showing love and appreciation for others, in taking care of a child, in watching the sunset, in having a good cup of coffee.
“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”― Mark Twain
The pursuit of conventional success is so focused on me, me, me — the ego mind that often falls into the trap of comparison. As with joy and success, what’s the point of achieving something if there’s no one to share it with? When you lead with joy and make time to have meaningful connections, your world will be enriched in many ways.
You will have such emotional richness that propels you to achieve anything your heart desires. You will have a new kind of success that is grounded in trust, openness and joy.
If you’ve enjoyed this piece, I highly recommend this podcast interview with Deepak that has inspired this piece.
Here are some of my other work to help you further:
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