The Mindful Approach to Success: Finding Meaning and Purpose
I often hear from people who are driven to succeed in their careers and personal lives. They have big dreams, and they are willing to work hard to achieve them. While ambition is admirable, it can also create a sense of attachment to success that can be harmful. In this blog post, we will explore the idea of contentment and how striving mindfully can help us find it.
The Illusion of Success as Happiness
Many of us equate happiness with career achievements, but this can create a cycle of constantly striving for the next milestone. We may think that earning an advanced degree, making a lot of money, or winning approval from family and friends will bring us contentment. However, these are just motivations for striving, not contentment itself.
When we reach a new milestone in our career, we may be happy for a while, but our feelings of contentment are quickly replaced by a more powerful desire to reach the next target. Life then becomes a state of constant craving, always grasping for something we can never reach.
Balancing Career and Family
Sometimes, parents may be criticized for putting their work before their family. However, it’s important to understand that they may not be present in their own lives, either. While it’s understandable that parents work hard to provide for their families, material support should not be used as an excuse to pursue narrow self-interests.
Fortunately, career and family need not be mutually exclusive. It is possible to maintain presence in our own lives and the lives of our loved ones as we strive for success.
Mindful Striving for Contentment
When we strive mindfully, we strive with the mind already content in itself. Contentment does not depend on the fruits of our labor, but on the mind being at peace with itself, with or without the fruits.
The question then arises, why should we strive at all? If true happiness and contentment have nothing to do with accomplishing anything, why should we even bother?
We strive to coexist with the conditions and circumstances to which we are bound. If we are to function effectively in society, we must accept the roles and responsibilities that are expected of us. If there is a certain need or lacking in our lives, material or otherwise, we must address it right away, so that it does not become a source of frustration and unhappiness for us.
Mindfulness Shifts Focus from Outcome to Process
When we pursue our goals mindfully, we don’t necessarily lower our standards or become less motivated. While mindful striving may not guarantee success, it does bring meaning and purpose to our pursuits. Our happiness no longer hinges on the outcome of our efforts.
Attachment to the outcome denies us the opportunity to live in the present and fosters uncertainty, anxiety, stress, and self-doubt. Mindfulness enables us to shift our focus away from preoccupation with the outcome toward the process of our work.
We then realize that success can be savored only in the present moment, while we’re working, not in the distant future. Success is found in the act of striving, not in the results of our work.
Work as Expression of True Nature
With mindfulness, our endeavor takes on a spiritual dimension as we awaken to the clear meaning and purpose of our work. Work is no longer a means to an end, but the very expression of our True Nature.
When we approach our work with a sense of purpose and meaning, we can find contentment in the present moment, rather than constantly striving for something in the future. This approach can help us balance our careers and personal lives, and find true happiness and contentment in all aspects of our lives.
Conclusion
The pursuit of success is not inherently bad. It is natural to want to strive for something greater in life. However, when we become attached to success and equate it with happiness, we set ourselves up for a never-ending cycle of craving and dissatisfaction.
Contentment is not found in the achievement of our goals, but in the mind being at peace with itself. When we strive mindfully, we focus on the process, rather than the outcome, and find meaning and purpose in our work.
We recognize that our work is not separate from the rest of our lives, but an expression of our True Nature. Mindful striving can transform our efforts into purposeful, fulfilling experiences in all areas of our lives.
