Is success necessarily good?
"Success imprisons our mind!" said consultant cum author Michael Lum in his book which I had came acrossed recently. Here are an article and example from Michael that everyone of us need to into account.
Success may not be neccesarily good. It locks our minds in fixed paradigms. We accept parameters that have made us successful. Therefore, we continue to rely on the same formulae with practiced skills to get predictable responses. We live a life according to the script.
We operate operate in a safe and familiar environment called the confort zone. This saves us from the humiliation of failure.
Success discourages us from approaching problems from different angles and exploring new territories. It seduces us to be complacent, accept the known and resist the unknown. On our laurels, we rest comfortably. With success, we hug the shores of safety but fail to see the horizon of opportunities.
Ironically, success does not teach us how to manage failure successfully.
Example: An arrogant CEO of an electronics firm proudly asserted, "I have been running this company for 18 years and every year, it churned out profit better than the previous. I do not know of anybody who can manage this business better than me."
He continually rejected suggestions from his colleagues on how to improve the business. Soon the company encounter dwindling profits and was acquired by his competitors. Today, he lives to regret the arrogance of his success.
I found a truth in Michael's article and example which he wrote. Apart from that, his educational outlook on how to handle failure also interest me based on the fact that the world that we live today only see success, success and nothing but success. No mention on failure as this word is considered an outcast.
Indeed, we must learn from failure. Success is actually after several tried and failed attempts to put up something that we desire to see its success. Failure encourage us to adapt to as many changes as possible in order to improve ourselves.
Therefore, success is a conservative concept that will never bring us to another step forward in continuous learning, opportunities and "actual success."
Success may not be neccesarily good. It locks our minds in fixed paradigms. We accept parameters that have made us successful. Therefore, we continue to rely on the same formulae with practiced skills to get predictable responses. We live a life according to the script.
We operate operate in a safe and familiar environment called the confort zone. This saves us from the humiliation of failure.
Success discourages us from approaching problems from different angles and exploring new territories. It seduces us to be complacent, accept the known and resist the unknown. On our laurels, we rest comfortably. With success, we hug the shores of safety but fail to see the horizon of opportunities.
Ironically, success does not teach us how to manage failure successfully.
Example: An arrogant CEO of an electronics firm proudly asserted, "I have been running this company for 18 years and every year, it churned out profit better than the previous. I do not know of anybody who can manage this business better than me."
He continually rejected suggestions from his colleagues on how to improve the business. Soon the company encounter dwindling profits and was acquired by his competitors. Today, he lives to regret the arrogance of his success.
I found a truth in Michael's article and example which he wrote. Apart from that, his educational outlook on how to handle failure also interest me based on the fact that the world that we live today only see success, success and nothing but success. No mention on failure as this word is considered an outcast.
Indeed, we must learn from failure. Success is actually after several tried and failed attempts to put up something that we desire to see its success. Failure encourage us to adapt to as many changes as possible in order to improve ourselves.
Therefore, success is a conservative concept that will never bring us to another step forward in continuous learning, opportunities and "actual success."
