When Success Leaves You Empty

Who doesn’t love securing a bag? Finally landing your dream job or getting that promotion you’ve been working hard on can leave you feeling like you can conquer anything! It is something you should be proud of! But once all the confetti settles and you’ve finally come down from your happy high, what else is left to do? A.C Shilton of Psychology Today writes about the emptiness she felt after achieving what she thought would be unthinkable, and how she coped with it. She writes of her experience with “arrival fallacy”.

“Arrival Fallacy” is defined as the “illusion that once we make it, once we attain our goal or reach our destination, we will reach lasting happiness.” This term was defined by Tal Ben-Shahar, who is a Harvard-trained positive psychology expert who is also credited with coining the term. This term focuses on what people expect from success. Then when they get that success, the happiness they once had during their rise to the top, takes a nosedive and vanishes. He says this is what he believes leads to celebrities having mental illnesses.
The research from this article showed that it is okay to be happy at the bottom. It’s also great to be happy at the top, but when you’re there, always take time to reflect on the things you did the way up. Find something that keeps you humble, but keeps your mind busy at the same time. When you are at peace and not in pieces, anywhere you are on your road to success can keep you fulfilled.

~Alicia Meredith