The 30-Second Takeaways
🎓 Back-to-school season prompts us to reassess our lives and question our happiness and success. It's a time for reflection and potential growth.
🏆 Success in the modern world is often narrowly defined by wealth, professional achievements, and social media influence. This limited view can lead to stress and burnout.
🐀 The "rat race" is an exhausting pursuit of externally defined success markers. Remember, nobody ever truly wins a rat race.
🌸 Ikigai, a Japanese concept, offers a more holistic approach to success. It's the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.
📏 Measure your progress against your past self, not others. This allows you to celebrate your own growth and accomplishments.
🛤️ View success as a journey, not a destination. It's about continual growth and self-improvement, not reaching a specific endpoint.
😊 Happiness is largely a state of mind. The "happiness switch" is always available to us, regardless of our circumstances.
🌱 Cultivate happiness as a skill through daily gratitude and mindfulness practices.
🤝 Build meaningful relationships and contribute to something larger than yourself for a more fulfilling life.
🎭 Define success on your own terms. Your life should be lived according to your values and priorities, not societal expectations.
The Full Article
The Back-to-School Blues and the Quest for Happiness
As September rolls in and the chilly air settles over Geneva, Switzerland, many of us find ourselves grappling with the familiar 'back-to-school' feeling. Whether you're a student returning to university or a professional resuming work after a summer break, this transition often brings a mix of emotions. Some may feel energised by the prospect of new challenges, while others might experience a sense of dread at the thought of resuming their daily grind.
This annual shift prompts us to reassess our lives, our achievements, and our overall sense of fulfilment. We begin to ask ourselves profound questions: Am I happy? Am I successful? These queries, while seemingly simple, open the door to a complex exploration of what truly matters in our lives.
The Modern Dilemma: Success vs. Happiness
In our hyper-connected world, we're constantly bombarded with images of success. Social media influencers showcase seemingly perfect lives, while news outlets highlight groundbreaking achievements in business and technology. Amidst this cacophony of 'success stories', it's easy to lose sight of what truly matters.
This begs the question: Is success really the key to happiness? Or have we been looking at it all wrong?
The Evolution of Success: From Power to Capitalism
To understand our current predicament, we need to step back and examine how our concept of success has evolved over time.
Historically, success was primarily equated with power. Military conquerors like Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte were considered the epitome of achievement. However, would we consider them successful by today's standards?
The modern concept of success began to take shape with the rise of capitalism and global trade in the 16th century. The discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus sparked a surge of exploration and colonisation across Europe. This period marked what we might call "the ascent of money".
It's worth noting that while money had existed for centuries (with coins dating back to ancient Roman, Greek, and Syrian civilisations), the real ascent of money as we know it today began with capitalism in the 16th century. This shift was epitomised by families like the Medici, who established their financial empire during the Renaissance in Italy.
Interestingly, the word "successful" itself first appeared in the late 1500s, derived from the Latin "succedere". It was coined to describe this new world of capitalist achievement, where individuals could gain power and influence through their own economic endeavours rather than inherited status.
The 21st Century: A New Definition of Success
Fast forward to the 21st century, and we find ourselves in a world where success is often equated with financial wealth, professional achievements, and more recently, social media influence and fame. This narrow definition of success has given rise to what many refer to as the "rat race" - a constant, often exhausting pursuit of externally defined markers of achievement.
The Pitfalls of the Rat Race
The problem with this modern conception of success is that it creates a never-ending cycle of competition and comparison. Unless you become significantly wealthy or famous, you're constantly striving to renew your "tokens of success". This can be incredibly exhausting and detrimental to our mental health and overall happiness.
It's crucial to remember: Nobody ever wins a rat race. It's impossible because it's never-ending, and at some point, you'll inevitably fall from exhaustion.
While this competitive environment drives innovation and progress, it also leads to immense stress and burnout. Many people experience a persistent feeling of inadequacy, always feeling the pressure to climb higher on the ladder of success.
The Reality Check: Success for the Few
The harsh reality is that only a small percentage of people will ever reach the top of their field or achieve the level of wealth and fame that society often equates with success. It's a narrow door, a pointy tip of the pyramid.
Take YouTube, for example. While MrBeast and a handful of others have found immense success, countless content creators will never reach that level of fame or financial reward. The same is true in the music and film industries, where many talented individuals struggle to make a living, let alone become superstars.
This begs the question: Are the rest of us doomed to lives of unfulfillment and self-deprecation? Are we all "losers" in this game of success?
Redefining Success: The Concept of Ikigai
To answer this question, we need to turn to alternative perspectives on success and happiness. One particularly valuable concept comes from Japanese culture: Ikigai.
Ikigai roughly translates to "reason for being". It's a holistic approach to life purpose that goes beyond the traditional Western notion of success. Ikigai is found at the intersection of four elements:
What you love
What you're good at
What the world needs
What you can be paid for
Finding your Ikigai is about discovering the sweet spot where your passions, talents, and values align with the needs of the world and your potential for sustenance. It's a more balanced and fulfilling approach to success that incorporates personal fulfilment, social contribution, and practical considerations.
Measuring Progress: Comparing to Your Past Self
Another important shift in perspective is to measure your progress against your past self, not others. The circumstances, abilities, and opportunities of others are beyond your control. What truly matters is how you've grown and improved compared to where you were yesterday, last month, last year, or a decade ago. This shift allows us to celebrate our own growth and accomplishments, regardless of how they measure up to external standards.
This doesn't mean we should completely ignore the achievements of others. We can still draw inspiration from people excelling in sports, arts, culture, technology, and science. However, the primary focus should be on our personal growth journey.
Success as a Journey, Not a Destination
It's crucial to view success as a journey rather than a destination. Life is unpredictable, and we can't always foresee the events that will shape our path. A career change, the loss of a loved one, a sudden illness, or an unexpected move can dramatically alter our circumstances.
Many successful people will tell you that reaching their first million dollars only made them hunger for the next million, and the next. There's no endpoint where you suddenly feel "successful". Instead, it's the journey of continual growth, learning, and self-improvement that provides a true sense of success.
The Happiness Switch: A Lesson from Provence
To understand happiness, let me share a story about a man named Olivier SILVE, a countryman from my village in the highlands of Provence. Olivier lived a simple life, cultivating lavender and making lavender oil. He had a saying that has stuck with me: "Happy are the persons who truly believe they are happy."
This profound statement highlights an important truth: Happiness is largely a state of mind, not the result of external circumstances. It suggests that we have the power to choose happiness, regardless of our situation. This doesn't mean ignoring our ambitions or stopping self-improvement efforts. Instead, it means finding contentment and joy in our current situation while still working towards our goals.
The happiness switch is always available to us. We don't need to wait for a specific achievement or milestone to be happy. It's a skill we can cultivate and a choice we can make every day.
Navigating Success and Happiness in the Modern World
So, how do we navigate this complex landscape of success and happiness in our modern world? Here are some key takeaways:
Define success on your own terms: Reflect on what truly matters to you, not what society tells you should matter.
Seek your Ikigai: Strive to understand what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.
Focus on personal growth: Measure your progress against your past self, not others.
Cultivate happiness as a skill: Practice gratitude and mindfulness daily. Remember, "Happy are the persons who truly believe they are happy."
Build meaningful relationships: Invest in connections with people you love and your community.
Contribute to something larger than yourself: Find ways to positively impact the world around you.
Embrace the journey: Remember that success and happiness are ongoing processes, not final destinations.
Conclusion: Your Life, Your Terms
As we navigate the complexities of modern life, it's crucial to find a balance between ambition and contentment, between achieving our goals and appreciating the present moment. Remember, true success lies not in the accolades we accumulate or the wealth we amass, but in the lives we touch, the growth we experience, and the happiness we cultivate along the way.
Ultimately, it's your life, and it needs to be defined on your own terms. There's no compromise possible here. As you reflect on your own definitions of success and happiness, remember that you have the power to flip the happiness switch every day. Don't wait for some future achievement to be happy – seize the opportunity for happiness that exists right now, in this moment.
Your journey to success and happiness is uniquely yours. Embrace it, cherish it, and most importantly, live it on your own terms.
Thanks and acknowledgements
This Podcast was produced with passion and love in green Geneva, Switzerland. It is proudly sponsored by Valeris Coaching, and primarily produced and delivered by senior coach Lucas Challamel, as part of his YouTube channel, The Camel Hall.
https://poe.com/Claude-3-Opus, contributed to brainstorming and as a sounding board for some conceptual propositions.
The video was patiently edited with the free version of CapCut, including sound FX, stickers and automated captions (Such a great feature!)
About “The Switch” podcast
Are you ready to unlock the power of your mindset? Welcome to “The Switch” — a podcast that will empower you to master the art of consciously shifting your mental state, even on the toughest of days.
Hosted by Lucas CHALLAMEL, a high-performance mindset coach, personal growth expert, and ethical leadership mentor, this podcast is your ultimate guide to understanding, improving, and leveraging the incredible potential of your mindset. Through insightful discussions, expert interviews, and actionable strategies, “The Switch” will equip you with the knowledge and tools to flick the switch and achieve breakthrough personal and professional growth.
In this groundbreaking podcast, sponsored by Valeris Coaching, we dive deep into the concept of “mindset” — a dynamic framework that shapes our perception, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. You’ll learn how to consciously adopt a growth mindset, free yourself from limiting beliefs, and cultivate a positive, resilient mental state that propels you towards success and fulfilment.
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✤ Introduction To Ikigai: Find Your Happiness Switch