Keys to Happiness

It is not the accumulation of wealth that's the key to happiness but it is the success; being successful in things we are involved in either directly or indirectly is what keeps us all happy.

Then what's the key to success? Apparently there is no single key that opens the doors to success. I thought of sharing the keys I found thus far in life that helped me taste the success.

Perseverance is what I have always rated as the master key. It is something I realize that's inherent in life. All of us have it in us except that we may be going through phases where you hear someone saying "I gave up". We keep referring to perseverance also as focus, commitment, persistence, determination and so on. It is the thread that connects all other beads such as knowledge, talent, skill, etc. to form the beautiful chain of success.

Growing up every one of us have may have experienced instances of perseverance that paved the way to our careers. You demonstrated perseverance when you learned riding a bike despite several falls. You demonstrated perseverance when you turned off or stayed away from TV during your exam preparation. You demonstrated perseverance when you solved that big math problem tweaking all those theorems and formulas. Essentially you keep exploring the maze until you find the way out.

Perseverance is about "there must be a way" attitude. Many a times we discover ourselves ending up with the realization something which we might have thought impossible was indeed possible. I remember one of my ex-colleagues once told me that even 'impossible' is actually means "I'm possible" :) Perseverance helps us ensure we covered all the ground before we declare the end. In the early days of my career I and my team encountered what we thought was a major technical road block, which ended up being resolved by the simple act of turning off a yes/no option that was sitting a few layers deep. I'm sure you all may have many such examples.

Here's another good example that I often share with all my team members. A customer takes his car to the garage and complains that his car requires multiple attempts to start whenever he purchases the Almond Chocolate ice cream but not when he buys ice cream with other flavors. My first thought was that the customer is crazy - how in the world purchasing a particular flavor of ice cream connected with the car ignition!! But fortunately the garage mechanic is persistent. He digs deeper and finds out that the car has a cold start issue. When the customer purchases his favorite flavor it is not usually available in the front shelf and takes time to get it picked up from the storage area. Meanwhile the engine gets cold and hence the problem.

Perseverance doesn't necessarily translate to repeatedly trying the same thing same way without a break. It is important to keep learning from each attempt and improve or change the method or approach until you succeed. It is more important that you take a break once in a while and get back to it with a refreshed/relaxed mind. Never be hesitant or afraid to seek advice. It is my experience that a lot of times an observer can come up with a better 'move suggestion' than the player who's deeply involved.

That's it for now, will share another key soon in my next post...

Topics: Workplace Tips

 

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