Introvert Talks - What Is Success And Failure?
"Introvert Talks" is meant to be a new initiative or theme, where I myself as an introvert, just talk about reflections and thoughts about my life, or maybe share more personal stuff. :)
This is my weekly post under this "Introvert Talks" theme and let's see where it takes me and us.
Is there a definition to what is success and failure? Or it's up to us to define ourselves?
Recently I have been wondering about this question myself. It's the financial year end season and some of us will be notified of our salary increment and annual bonuses. Over the years, I have realised it's quite meaningless to ask if people are happy or sad about the result, because everyone has different expectations. Even the same amount of increment or bonus, could make one person happy, but at the same time, could make someone unhappy as well. So how do we actually define what one succeeded or failed?
Personally, I have been my fair share of good years and bad years, and I would say the bad years have had the most impact on me and it does make me treasure the better years and be grateful. It might be an average quantum to some, but to me, my mind would remind me that "it could have been worse" and I definitely have experienced those dark years.
At the end of the day, our salary, or increment, or bonuses, don't really define ourselves or our self worth. Of course, these are still important parts of our lives because we need to pay our bills and find purpose in life, but we play so many roles in our lives and it's more complex. Someone could just be a C at work, but if they are a A dad or a A husband, I am sure that's a great person too!
And speaking of successes and failures, my 6 month goal of losing weight has come to an end. Here's the final weight reading and the tally.
| Month | Weight | Change (Vs Start) |
|---|---|---|
| Start | 66.4 kg | |
| Month 1 (end Oct 2025) | 66.3 kg | -0.1 kg |
| Month 2 (end Nov 2025) | 64.9 kg | -1.5 kg |
| Month 3 (end Dec 2025) | 65.7 kg | -0.7 kg |
| Month 4 (end Jan 2026) | 65.7 kg | -0.7 kg |
| Month 5 (end Feb 2026) | 65.7 kg | -0.7 kg |
| Month 6 (end Mar 2026) | 65.2 kg | -1.2 kg |
| Target | 61.4 kg | -5.0 kg |
I set out to lose 5 kg in 6 months but after 6 months, I "failed" to achieve the goal. Still, I "succeeded" to losing weight, even though it's a minor 1.2 kg shaved off, I don't think I would have made it if I didn't had this goal. So was this exercise a success or failure? Haha.
Alright, that's all I have for my self-talk post. Happy weekend ahead!