It's a question that plagues many who reach the pinnacle of their careers or personal goals, "Why am I successful but yet unhappy?" They've climbed the ladder and reached a level where society acknowledges their success. They are respected, treated better than most, but inside, they feel empty. After spending so much time and energy reaching their objectives, they find themselves grappling with unhappiness.

Is this supposed to happen? Let’s find the reason why.

The Definition of Success

Success is an image created by our environment through conditioning. We are told what it is, someone shows us who is successful, we are taught to strive for success, and we are pushed in those directions. This road was created by many people before us, and many after us will follow the same road.

Reaching what has been defined as success has more to do with conditioning. For different societies, success means different things. In some part of the world, success is defined by money and material gain, for others, it’s defined by the number of cows we own, and for some, it could simply be how many children you have because for them, children equate to wealth.

Success is generally defined by other people in our community, but this has nothing to do with happiness.

Happiness Vs Success

Happiness is an internal process, different from success, which is an external process.

Happiness is defined by you alone, but success is defined by others. Happiness is a profound emotion linked to what your tendencies are. Some people are happy when they do physical exercises, others when they build something from their bare hands. 

Some people are cerebral and love to use their logical tendencies, and others are very creatively driven. This is why it’s crucial to define for yourself what makes you happy, not what someone tells you should make you happy.

Live According to Your Internal Compass

Live according to your internal compass, which will guide you through your journey on this planet based on what you are passionate about. If we all followed this method, everyone would be in the Why Am I Successful But Yet Unhappy? right place, and most would excel in what they do, making 'average' simply not good enough.

Passionate people don’t need to be monitored or managed, they do what they have to based on their own desires and choices. Learn how to choose for yourself the meaning of your life; otherwise, only confusion is possible, and our sense of existence might be missed.

In conclusion, success and happiness are not mutually exclusive. However, the path to happiness is a personal journey guided by your passions, not societal expectations or definitions of success. So, redefine your success based on what truly makes you happy, and you may find that the feeling of emptiness dissipates.