Perception vs reality: why achieving success requires effort and anticipation

Success means different things to different people, and in different contexts. But to me, achieving success is directly related to the effort I put in. The things that I value the most are worth investing in (whether in business, relationships or a fitness goal), and the investment of effort and commitment which delivers a successful outcome is what makes everything worthwhile.

Truly achieving success cannot come via easy wins.

Who feels the greatest satisfaction: the candidate who secures a job with their first interview or the one who gets their ideal offer after 100 applications? Who appreciates and values their money more: the person who gets rich winning the lottery or the one who gets there by growing their business over 20 years?

The same is true for health and fitness too.  We’ve previously looked at running marathons and striving for Olympic glory, and achieving success is always sweeter for the athletes who have to fight harder. They are the ones who feel the appreciation and gratitude the most.

And if any of us want more joy and happiness in any of our relationships (significant other, friends, parents, colleagues, customers), then the secret is to invest: invest effort, time and commitment.

Embrace the wait

This approach is not a quick fix, so it is also true that part of the journey to achieving success requires patience and the ability to embrace waiting.

While walking at sunrise the other day (I’m training for a 50km charity walk in aid of a local Homeless Charity, One Big Family, and would love your support!) , I was listening to a track called ‘I’ll wait’ by Kygo, a beautiful instrumental piece I discovered via the Calm app. As I caught myself feeling impatient waiting for the sun to come up, I realised that there is actually a delight to be found in waiting for things.

We all have a choice in life: to allow ourselves to be annoyed about having to wait, or to enjoy being in the moment and embracing the anticipation of what is to come.

Daily meditation has taught me to be in the present and to lean in to my feelings, so rather than getting wound up and being impatient, the challenge for me (and perhaps for you) is to focus on the positive benefits of anticipation; channel the joy of standing at the altar waiting for my bride to walk up the aisle, or the sense of excitement before the curtain rises at the theatre, or one of many other life events.

Achieving success can then become as much about the journey as the destination, with thousands of moments of gratitude to be found all along the way.

They say, “Gratitude is the lubricant to a happy life!” and who wouldn’t want that?