Definition of Success 成功的定義

Definition of Success 成功的定義

My friend asked me what I would change about my life if I was wealthy, and that’s when it hit me: Nothing really. the only difference would be that I would not have to be concerned about paying the monthly bills anymore, and maybe that I would purchase a nice house in the hills, but the actual contents of my life and the way I have furnished it so far would not unergo any significant transformation.

This discovery intrigued me. In fact it got me mulling over it long after the conversation with my friend was over! Just think about it for a moment: there are many wealthy people who would give away half or all of their assets if only they could obtain contentment. And there are many people balancing on the edge of poverty, but with peace in their heart, faces that smile a lot, and a set of activities that they would not want to change for the world. Now, which category of these people is really successful?

My conclusion is, that success has just as many faces as any other possible theme, depending on the society in which it is measured, and the values of the person who measures it. Wrongfully, many people confuse success with wealth: they assume that a person’s trimph can be concluded from the expensiveness of his or her watch, car, or house. They envy those in their circle of acquaintances who can financially afford more than they can. They keep comparing themselves with the Joneses and allow their happiness to depend on the level to which they can equal these people’s lifestyles. And they forget to just do the simplest thing in the world: turn inside and analyze what it is that they really like.

I think success should be more synonymous with happiness than with affluence. For it’s only when you find satisfaction with what you’re doing and don’t dread facing every new day when your task has to be embarked upon, that you are really successful. When you can move in an environment that pleases you, and when you feel at ease with the ones you deal with on a daily basis; when you feel loved, cared for, understood, and valued in what you do, and you don’t have to switch personalities from one location to another: that’s when you’ve really attained in one person’s life; when you are confronted with gratitude, not only from others toward you, but from your outer-self to your inner-self: that’s when you are a really winner.

Success, therefore, cannot be measured by what radiates from a person’s purse or material cover, but from what exudes from his or her personality. You can feel it in one’s touch, you can hear it in one’s voice and you can see it in one’s eyes. Successful people are self-assured, know what they want, and go for it. And what they want, they simply determine with feeling, and not with what others dictate them.

So, are you successful?

朋友問我，如果我真的富有了，生活會有什麽改變。這時我突然覺得，其實並不會有什麽改變。惟一的不同就是我將不再為支付每月的帳單發愁；也有可能我會在山裏購置一套漂亮的房子，但是我生活的實質內容以及我迄今為止的處事方式都不會發生根本的改變。

這一發現令我浮想聯翩。事實上，與朋友通完話後的很長一段時間裏我都在思考著這個問題。不妨花幾分鍾想一想：有許多富人情願將其一半或者全部資產贈與他人，隻求能夠換來心靈的滿足；還有許多人生活貧寒卻心中安寧，含笑終日，不願為這個世界改變自己的所作所為。究竟哪一類人確實是成功的呢？

我的結論是：同其他任何話題一樣，成功也存在著方方麵麵，取決於衡量它的社會及其評價人的價值觀。很多人錯誤地將成功與富有混淆在一起：他們認為一個人的成功從其擁有的名表、名車或者豪宅上便可窺見。他們在比自己更具經濟實力的熟人麵前表現得妒火難平。他們總是與比自己富有的圈中人相比較，將自己是否快樂建立在能否達到這些人的生活水準上。但是他們卻忘記了去做世間最簡單的一件事情，那就是反省並發現自己真正的喜好。

我認為，成功更應該是幸福，而不是富有。因為隻有當你對自己的所作所為心滿意足，並不為第二天要做的事擔憂的時候，你才真正地獲得了成功。當你能在一個愉快的環境中生活，並能每天與人輕鬆相處的時候，當你感受到周圍的關愛與理解，感受到自己的付出得到了珍視且不必不斷改變自己的時候，你才真正獲得了成功。當你發現自己的努力造成了影響，哪怕隻是給一個人的生活，當你得到的感激不僅來自他人，而且自己也由內而外都深悟到它的時候，你才真正的獲得了成功。

因此，衡量成功不是看一個人的錢包或者身外之物，而是要看一個人的人格。你可以在一個人的觸摸中感受到它，從一個人的聲音中聽到它，還能從一個人的眼睛中看到它。成功的人應該充滿自信的，明白自己所需並付諸行動。他們隻根據自我感覺而非他人旨意來決定自己應該追求什麽。

那麽，你認為自己是成功者嗎？

Source:crazyenglish.org (ZT)