Why salary should not be a measure of success
In generic terms success is that which people look up to emulate you! It can be defined as an attainment or accomplishment of any preset goal! But have you taken time to sit back and ponder upon what really is your goal in life? If money alone is your motto you could be anything in life, anything from a derby enthusiast to a don!
While it is amply true that we all need a reliable monetary backing to aid our everyday needs, there is no shying away from the fact that we head out to work in exchange for an assured monetary remuneration at the end of the month. Money does motivate us to a large extent, wealth is no yardstick to measure your success.
Different people gauge success from different perspectives, if following their heart and chasing their dream is success to a few, setting up their little own home may be success to a few others, some scale their success with their children’s achievements while some weigh their bank balances and land documents but true success is when you look back and realize that there is a whole set of well-wishers backing you, true success is when you have enough happy times to share your accomplishments with your near and dear ones.
Success is practicing that which keeps you spirited enough to scale bigger challenges in life.
Manjula, an old colleague of mine is with the same employer since the last 20 years largely because she is extremely happy with the work culture, the quality of management, the flexibility and employee policies, all these non-tangibles greatly inspired and influenced her career path. As a result of this long relationship and mutual trust of delivery that they are enveloped in over the years, she is assigned senior roles and responsibilities and she is extremely content and proud of it.
To Manjula, success is all about the trust she has won over her employers, success is the rapport and reputation she has earned over time and does not feel the necessity to compare and contrast with her peers who earn twice as much as her elsewhere.
But somehow a fat salary has become symbolic with success in the world. Everything from our economy to our prosperity is measured in money but researches have established that contentment and happiness although directly proportional with the money earned cannot be bought by money alone.
Shyam is a high performer at his office he has been bagging outstanding performance awards since the last 2 years, although the prize money is insignificant, he is elated just with the acknowledgement and feels assured of better growth prospects, not just financially but an overall organic growth of his career in the organization. He is seen as someone who is successful by his colleagues. The efforts he put in for these consecutive awards have today fetched him a much deserved salary hike.
To put it in other words, a good salary is not the result of success but successful candidates end up with good salaries! And there are no conventional success indicators as such, as each one of us have our own definitions of success. For a writer, success is when people endorse his writings and for a cook success is when the meal is cherished by all! If some people feel successful working on a prestigious project, some feel enamored by working with highly talented folks that adds value to their learning and self-growth.
If salary meets your needs, success reflects your deeds!
By Mayura Rao
