“You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should long for inaction. Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself—without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. For yoga is perfect evenness of mind”
The Bhagavad Gita
As a kid I was quickly taught the meaning of success—it was the difference between the haves and the have nots. The difference of playing Xbox after school and not being able to afford an Xbox. The difference of respecting your parents for what they had versus looking down on them for their smoking and gambling habits. The difference of owning a new car at sixteen and not being able to afford the driver’s exam. Success, in my eyes, was very quickly attributed to the great pressure of life: money.
Money is the great equalizer and separator. The rich man with money is revered, the poor man without money is ashamed; but when the poor man attains money he is heralded and celebrated. Picking up girls in a Lamborghini earns the millennial millions on Youtube, and the picture-perfect private jet gets the same on Instagram.
With each tap of the thinly stroked heart icon, the dopamine drop drips into our bloodstream and we want the hit again.
I think by now, we’ve all heard the stories—the billionaire in the coffin filled with money but no friends and family to mourn, the famous comedian that makes millions laugh while on stage, but can only seem to frown when he’s alone by himself, and the fitness influencer that perspired to inspire but ended up losing their own self in a selfie.
And with each one of these stories comes the same narrative that perhaps—just maybe—there is a better purpose; a better way, something worth really living for.
Three thousand years ago, someone pondered the same question. Arjuna sat with his charioteer Krishna in the midst of an Armageddon-like battlefield—torn inside on the purpose and struggle of life. He pondered what it meant to be right, what it meant to be a good person.
Why are we here?
Krishna responds in an epic eighteen chapters his answer to the path of life—a way of action, a way of moving forward and acting without regards for ones own personal desires. To find evenness of mind in both pleasure and pain, to decommit from the pressurized pump which culture forces and shapes us.
Three thousand years ago we knew the answer. We knew that serving a higher purpose is far more fulfilling than serving the paycheck that puts bread on the plate of our egos.
But I’m more interested in why we still don’t care.
Perhaps it’s the constant noise that’s telling us what we should value. Perhaps it’s our parents with their unrealistically high expectations. Perhaps its our girlfriend who values us not for who we are, but how much we can provide.
Everyday, and everywhere we look there are a myriad of reasons for why we value the things we do. Because of this, it’s more important now more than ever to surround ourselves by people, ideas, and values that truly reflect our goals in life.
For me that means journaling, so that I can keep a close touch with my inner self, listening to podcasts so I can constantly be connected with people who believe first and foremost in serving, and reading as much as possible on ideas, beliefs, and faiths.
I’m not going to lie and say I’m not chasing money, but I also believe that there is some good in this world that’s worth fighting for. I believe that purpose comes from hardships, hardships create stories, stories shape our selves, and ourselves are the one person we need to be able to really love.
If you’re feeling the pressure of life, detach from the reactionary rollercoaster that is culture. Look inward, dig deep, understand who you are and what you stand for, and never let that go.
Challenge it constantly, but never let it go.
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