Is success sabotaging your happiness?

Success can be a powerful force in our lives, driving us to achieve extraordinary goals.

Yet, amidst the pursuit of success, it's crucial to pause and reflect: are we truly happy? We've been conditioned to believe that success is the key to happiness. But most people fail to recognize that true success should include both professional accomplishments and personal fulfillment.

Today, we’ll explore this delicate balance to help you build success without sacrificing your happiness.

🛟 The Dark Side of Success

Consider the famous story of Robin Williams, a man who had it all—fame, wealth, and accolades. Despite his incredible success, he struggled with inner turmoil and unhappiness, which ultimately led to his tragic end. Williams struggle was not due to lack of success, but rather, the inability to find fulfillment. A powerful reminder that success can sabotage your happiness if it doesn’t feed your inner peace. Here’s an interesting question Warren Buffett often ask:

“Would you rather be the world’s greatest lover, but have everyone think you’re the world’s worst lover? Or would you rather be the world’s worst lover but have everyone think you’re the world’s greatest lover? ”

Think of it this way:
Would you rather compromise your standards in exchange for external admiration?
Or would you rather stay focused on your unique journey?

🧠 Living Based on External Scorecard

People are often carried away by the validation of others.

When you are too focused on what people think, you tend to compromise on your standards to keep the momentum: the attention, ego, status, and reputation. You begin to loose sight of yourself.

The higher you climb, the more you feel the need to maintain your performance. Working longer hours, sacrificing principles, and neglecting your own needs, all in an effort to retain external admiration. And that’s where the problem begins: the feeling of emptiness, unfulfillment, anxiety, disconnection from oneself and loved ones. Then you wake up one day wondering why you are so unhappy despite all the success and fame you have attained.

The answer is this:
Success built on external validation leaves a fleeting happy hour.

❤️ Focus on Internal Scorecard & Motivation

Prioritize your ‘why’ along with your ambitions. Your ‘why’ is often driven by personal values and the standards you set for yourself. So your ‘why’ is your internal scorecard. When you focus on internal motivation, you define success on your own terms. You care less about other people’s opinion, admiration, or acceptance.

Creating a sense of contentment that keeps you focused on your ambition. You do not have to fake or force anything. This makes your journey toward success more fulfilling: anxiety free, healthier relationships, improved well-being, inner peace, and lasting happiness.

🤲 Define Success Based On Your Inner Scorecards

You can be happy AND successful by practicing these simple steps.

This may be a tough way to put it, but it’s a great way to set up your scorecard:

1. Take time to consider what truly matters to you — If you only had one week left to live, what would you spend your time doing → that’s your internal motivation

2. Learn to say "no" to non-essential commitments that don’t align with your priorities — If you only had one week left to live, what would you absolutely stop wasting any time on → that’s how you set clear boundaries

3. Reflect on your achievements — If you only had one week left to live, what would you pause to say gratitude for in your journey → that’s a valuable moment of self-appreciation.

🤗 A New Chapter

What small change can you make today to stay focused on your journey?
Being rich and famous is absolutely satisfying. But you can easily ruin it by loosing focus of your scorecard.

Like Warren Buffet says: “The big question about how people behave is whether they’ve got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard.”

Live a fulfilling life, not just a successful one.

PS. Are you successful yet unhappy? I’ve been there before. Feel free to reply this email if you’d like me support on your path to a happier life.

With appreciation, Huw