3 Deceptively Simple Life Lessons Every Ambitious Individual Needs To Learn Before They Turn 30
By: Dr. Matthew Jones
Tags: Life Lessons, Inspiration, Happiness, Self, Psychology

3 Deceptively Simple Life Lessons Every Ambitious Individual Needs To Learn Before They Turn 30

The view from the peak is more enjoyable when you’ve enjoyed each step of the climb.

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

Ambitious individuals often fall victim to their pursuit of success.

By constantly preparing for the future or analyzing the past, successful people restrict themselves from being fully immersed in the present moment.

Most individuals with a thirst for achievement fail to recognize the very traits that make them successful also prevent them from developing a greater sense of fulfillment.

Strategizing for the future and delaying gratification for long-term gains builds materialistic wealth. Consistent, quality habits lead to the conventional markers of achievement. But playing the game of wealth or influence robs most individuals of happiness by convincing them that their fulfillment is tied to achievement.

In truth, you cannot become happy through achievement. You can only be happy. And you can make that choice — of releasing suffering and accessing a deeper state of gratitude — in any moment.

While many have mastered the formula to acquiring material wealth, few have discovered the path to building inner wealth.

Read the list below to learn three ways to acquire inner wealth.

1. Recognize that you will never be satisfied

No matter how much money, fame, admiration, or power you earn, it will never satisfy your thirst.

Your mind is built to project into the future or ruminate on past events.

Thinking about the future may increase your drive and determination, but it also prevents your ability to soak up the nectar of this moment. It leads to anxiety, over-analyzing decisions, and cost-benefit analyses that reduce the complexity of human connection.

Even if you’re able to interrupt your constant thought-stream, you’ll likely still fall victim to the trap of tying your emotional happiness to external objects.

If the object you desire is a BMW, soon after acquiring the object, it will lose its specialness and you will feel driven to buy something else, something even more impressive.

The thirst of your ego is endless.

Learn to move your mind from the future to the present moment. See through the trap of materialism.

To be happy, you need to recognize that no matter what you have, your mind will always want more.

2. Realize that if you cannot be happy now, you will never be happy

Because the mind is always looking forward to bigger and better things, no amount of materialistic success or power will satisfy its hunger.

If the mind is always hungry, then the game you’re playing is futile unless you develop the ability to allow happiness to enter your heart.

Learn to meditate and cultivate true presence.

When you are fully immersed in the here and now, you are in a state of no-mind. When the mind is absent, fulfillment and happiness enter your heart, enabling you to enjoy what you have now.

There’s no need to stop acquiring material wealth if that’s what you feel called to do, but you need to recognize that if you fail to pay attention to your inner wealth, your successes will only magnify your inner emptiness.

3. Learn the language of true happiness

Dominant cultural narratives spread lies about happiness.

They tell us to acquire power over others, to earn lots of money, and to engage in all sorts of pleasure-seeking activities. Unfortunately, after eating that nice meal, making your first million, or getting that big promotion, life returns to normal.

True happiness comes from being in the present moment.

The words happiness and happens have the same linguistic root because happiness happens as a byproduct of full engagement with the here-and-now.

In a state of no-mind, there is no contemplation of the future or the past, there is only full enjoyment of whatever is arising in consciousness.

No matter who you are, where you are, what you have, or what you don’t possess, you have the ability to experience a deep sense of contentment in life.

Maximizing one’s inner richness to match one’s outer wealth leads to a greater integration of balance, health, and fulfillment.

Discover the blockages that are preventing your own enjoyment of the journey so that you can overcome all obstacles and enjoy your road to success.

The view from the peak is more satisfying when you enjoy each step of the climb.

(A previous version of this article first appeared in Inc Magazine)