What's your success

When was the last time anybody asked you about your recent success and you answered the commendable yet unsurprising like, claiming a graduation degree, an award, a high paying job, a house property purchase or anything on those lines? Well, question me in return, and my latest success (latest!) that I’ll mention would be- One, I took a long run, 5 km, this weekend, without stopping, exactly as planned. Two, learned how to ride a bike, a motorcycle, since I always wanted to borrow my cousin’s Avenger. Completed a book in less than the predicted time. And to my own surprise, for once, at the end of the day, checked off all (read ALL) the ‘to-do’ things on the sticky note.

Doesn’t sound much like ‘the’ clichéd success items? Yes. Exactly this is my point hitherto. We expect ‘the’ answer when asked about success, I am not talking about an interview or an equally pragmatic situation, where ‘the’ answer is justified. But what about colloquially? What about when you are just chit chatting with the people who want to know you and spend time with you. Aren’t your regular, relatively transient, and less strategic accomplishments more important, entertaining & congruous? Don’t they deserve to be on ‘the’ list? I wonder how the word ‘Success’ has been overpriced & throned as a superlative. How come we can love (read LOVE) a pair of shoes, a particular song, and a tee or for that matter just a nail paint (for men, maybe just an Xbox), and not count our mundane substantial achievements that give us a genuine, unparalleled & unfeigned smile. Since when did we start loving each and every small thing and on the same time restrain ‘success’ to becoming a doctor/pilot/lawyer etc.

Let’s make success, a word and much more, as easy and as acknowledging as Love is in each day, while letting it retain its original value wherever and whenever significant. Let’s lighten up the usage of the word a little, putting up our run-of-the mill achievements by certifying them as success. Let’s echo the regular yet happy moments and call them a success. Well only we ourselves know what it takes to complete them and still remain un-rewarded.

Source of Thought (SOT):- I called up my mom for the daily talk on a lazy Sunday, and on being asked upon about her daily chores, she said she had a success today. I asked in a curious voice: what’s the success Mom? She replied- that thing you children eat all the time, yes, momos, I made them exactly like the ones you pay for, after a week’s efforts.

Jaya