How do you define Success?

Off too late! 

It's August 2022 here! Hope you all are doing good,

Back in 2020, I used to maintain a consistently 60-day straight running streak. With each passing day, I reserve time to ensure that I don't break the consistent chain. Since then my overall physical performance was little improved and I find myself confident. But then COVID happened, and everything around it all changed. I take a short break from running and over that period used to isolate myself from that thought of running too, each passing day I felt to go for running but that small feeling of being start from tomorrow will always win over this. And I keep pushing it on tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. Days passed and I stopped to think about going running. Consequently, I put on some weight; felt idle and developed repulsion to the idea of running.

Whenever the notion of running crisscrossed my mind, the idea of being my old feeling where I used to run 5k under 35 min felt too frightening. This same thing is going to apply to my habit of reading too. As COVID has changed each and everything around the table. Everything seems to be very awkward. The longer the break from these routine activities, the harder it became to restart these activities. So from March 2020 to March 2022 this two-year crucial gap in these routine activities entirely change my performance as a student. I feel sometimes very disheartened by the thought of procrastinating in these activities I like. As I used to procrastinate on them on tomorrow and so on.

Then a change happens, around March 22 I read a fantastic book by Mark-Manson entitled “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck” the title seems to be absurd but it is worth a book that can change your perspective. It is a masterpiece book that I feel is a game changer in my life. And from that time I used to become a fan of Mark Manson and his writings.

This book and the author have changed my perspective and meaning of what a successful day looked like.

Like on the days I didn’t feel like running due to certain reasons that may be a late awaking, late night sleep, etc., I defined success as walking for 15 minutes on that particular day.

On the days I didn’t feel like reading I defined success as reading 5 pages of a book

On the days I didn’t feel like writing I defined success as writing 5 sentences about what I feel 

On the days I didn’t feel like doing something eventful I defined success as doing the thing which gives me satisfaction 

This particular change in my thinking toward doing possible tasks helps me to restart the things which I gave up earlier. The most important and good part was when I walked for that 10 min, read those 5 pages, wrote those 5 lines, doing that thing which give me satisfaction, I usually kept going some more time and for some extra mile in that particular task/activity. And  by doing these things I felt somewhat better and more successful with each passing day.

Over the passing time, I think about this process , and then concluded from it that why this works;

When you are in a crash, two dreadful incidents materialize. One, you don't do the work that you should. And two, you are struck with guilt for wasting yet another day. Regret develops self-criticism. Criticism develops self-pity. Self-pity leads to being downhearted, which causes unhappiness.

By defining success as a simple and achievable task, you make it simple for yourself to restart from where you stop. Despite being waste your time on finding faults. By undertaking this, you eventually feel good and positive at the same time by doing which may lead you towards what you want to achieve.

Once you get to do these tasks for a definite set of time you find yourself optimistic. And you will feel the sensation of the fulfillment of what you want to do and that sensation is powerful.

So when you're feeling overwhelmed and find it difficult to do something that you want, define success as somehow less. 

Never forget that someone has told that the best way to achieve big goals is to take small steps!

So at last I would like to hear from you that how do you define success in your ownself?

Thank you!

Leaving you here with a small but powerful quote from the book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck”

Incerpt from the book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck”