Hey there,

 

This one is about different kinds of success.

​

The unpretentious act of having a conversation with a stranger is boundless in its knowledge-bestowing abilities. Not the concocted farce of instant messaging, none of that Instagram, Tinder, Snapchat vulgarity, no. A civilized, distraction-free conversation with someone. And without further ado, here is a snippet from a conversation I had with one fellow life-wanderer. Bear in mind, this is not the first question I asked him, I’m not a lunatic.

​

Me: So how exactly do you define success?

 

Him: Everyone has a different definition. I just want peace.

 

Me: Why is it that everyone at the later stages of their life want peace and happiness?

 

Him: I don’t know about others but I want peace, not happiness.

 

Me: What’s the difference?

 

Him: Imagine a straight line. That’s your mood. If you’re happy, the line starts going up.

 

Me: Yeah…

 

Him: But as life has it, there is very little evidence of humans being happy throughout. And if the line goes up, it’s bound to come down as well. It’s like a chart. I want peace. Contentment. A straight line unaffected by situations around me, or to be realistic, unaffected to a certain point where the line doesn’t fluctuate so often. Happy and sad are dependent variables. They’re dependent on the situation around. You get your paycheck, you’re happy. End of the month, you want to go out, you look at your balance, you’re sad. Peace is a state that doesn’t let something as trivial as a bank balance affect you. If you’re going out because you’ve got money, great. If you’re not, aah, what’s the difference, you’ll find better ways to spend your time.

​

Every person has had a different definition of success at different stages in their life. This is by far, the most difficult kind of success to achieve.

​

Want to receive the latest issues of the newsletters? Subscribe Now