Our world changed
Success, as well as the people who attained it, have always fascinated society. Success comes in many forms, but it is generally equated with flourishing, thriving, good fortune, elevated social status, wealth and over-achievement.
However, the world transformed since the debut of the pandemic. We can no longer act and think as we did before. Nevertheless, our inner world is also changing – our needs, wants and behaviors. So, we must change the definition of success. We can no longer thrive on the previous meanings of success. To flourish in the post-pandemic world, we have to rethink, redesign and reimagine our descriptions of personal success towards ones of fulfillment and sustainability.
Since the debut of the pandemic, everyone has been asking: “What happens next”. However, the right question to ask at this turning point is: “Whom do I wish to become for I will never be the same?”. As everyone’s sense of self became shattered by external and internal restrictions, we realized that success can no longer come from a sense of doing but must emerge from a sense of being.
People with an evolved sense of being have reached some king of identity resolution, self-understanding and inner peace. People without an elevated sense of being are prone to melancholy, apathy, pervasive dissatisfaction, go through the motions in life without personal fulfillment and receive satisfaction from attaining external goals.
The quality of our lives is directly related to the stories we narrate to ourselves on a regular basis. There is not one singular reality, but each of us interprets reality in their way. So, the question to ask one’s self at this time is: “Whom do I need to become to have the prosperity or fulfillment that I desire? About what should I think or not think habitually?”
Moderation not excess
Most desires are desires of abundance. Also, most diseases are ones of abundance. Having endless desires makes people unhappy. All pain in life comes from a mismatch between the life we want and the life we have. Advertising bombards us with more things that we should want to feel better – e.g. more clothes, more lavish trips, more followers. Achieving few of the aforementioned wishes will make a difference in our fulfillment. In other words, we need to be intellectually curious about the nature of our desires and adopt a more frugal lifestyle. Do not invest in things that in the long-term, will not add to your happiness or prosperity.
Focus on one desire at a time
We can achieve anything we want in life as long as we focus on one objective at one particular time. We cannot fulfill multiple desires at one distinct time. Success cannot be achieved through fuzzy thinking. Having numerous desires simultaneously clouds our judgment and diminishes our focus. We need to assess, prioritize and reprioritize our wishes at all times.
Success comes from truth
Authentic success stems from truth and truth comes from peace. The closer you are to your truth, the more silent you become inside. Your thoughts do not keep running around unexamined. You are not a slave to your desires. You do not need to succumb to society’s pressures or expectations. The closer you become to learning your truth, the more content and whole you feel in your success.
Let go of futile roles
The way you envision your roles impacts your mental focus, your well-being and your performance. Sustainable success comes from deprogramming yourself from the roles bestowed upon you. We all play roles in life –a victim, a savior, a superstar, a student, a teacher, a lover, a parent, to name but a few. We should not be stuck in roles but enter roles freely and willingly.
Choose flow not struggle
In the past decade, society equated achievement with the struggle, the grind, or the hustle – the capacity to endure the pain for the most extended time. Whilst hard work is essential to achievement, your gift – the thing you are uniquely qualified to do – comes to you in a state of flow. Flow is a state in which you feel like yourself. It is the right thing we do at the right time with a peaceful mind. It is challenging enough to keep us interested but easy enough not to give up. In these unprecedented times choose flow not struggle.
Timing impacts success
Overall, in order to thrive in the post-pandemic world, we must change our thinking about external success and develop our sense of being. Our current context provides us with the opportunity to improve our understanding of timing. It enables us to practice peaceful acceptance that this is not the right time to achieve massive success but to reevaluate or regroup. It is not the time to focus on performance but to look inwardly and reconsider our mentality and habits.