The New Success Metric: Well-Being, Wisdom, Wonder
“THRIVE” by Arianna Huffington Harmony Books, 2014
Executive Read “Thrive”
By Arianna Huffington
Harmony Books, 2014
It has been said many times, and the evidence is overwhelming, that fame, fortune and power do not really make a man or a woman happy. That’s why, as my old mentor was wont in saying: Concentrate on things money cannot buy—because they last forever. But that was in the 70s, and maybe that is an old-fashioned way of viewing things.
Somehow that old statement is getting to have fresh meanings today—in this digital world—where there are increasing casualties from those who worship fame, fortune and power.
Time was we lived in a world where speed is valued, where working without letup is applauded, where instant fame is worshipped, where making a pile whether in your check book or in the capital market is the ultimate measure, and where wielding politico-economic power sends shivers up our spine.
And yet how come we continually hear of casualties from those who make money or power their god? They suffer nervous breakdowns, leave homes broken, experience burnt-out—and sadly, some jump from the fourth or higher floor to the ground and dash to pieces everything they live for.
This book, simply titled “Thrive,” by Arianne Huffington, is introducing a new metric for success which is made of three Ws and one G: Well-Being, Wisdom, Wonder—and Giving.
The four just about summarize what is needed in life, if we listen to the author.
Addressing the need for “well-being,” the author is convincing us thus:
“If we don’t redefine what success is, the price we pay in terms of our health and well-being will continue to rise, as I found out in my own life. As my eyes opened, I saw that this new phase in my life was very much with the zeitgeist, the spirit of our times ….
“Every conversation I had seemed to eventually come around to the same dilemmas we are all facing—the stress of overbusyness, overworking, overconnecting on social media, and underconnecting with ourselves and with one another.”
The book cites many research studies that connect health problems to these modern-day activity trap.
In lieu of these hustle and bustle, the author recommends “space,” “gaps,” “pauses,” and “silence.” She calls these the “things that allow us to regenerate and recharge.”
The book devotes only five chapters—Well-Being, Wisdom, Wonder, Giving and Epilogue.
Almost half of the entire book is devoted to “well-being,” owing to the author’s personal journey—from a success- and power-driven workaholic to one who discovers the value of relaxation, of “time affluence,” of “real essences in life.”
While it is a journey, it is not your usual very personal, anecdotal and emotional trip. She explains: “This is the challenge we face in redefining success, in making the Third Metric principles part of our lives.”
Thus the book brings together the latest data, academic research and scientific findings which she hopes will convince even the most skeptical that the “current way we lead our lives is not working.”
This book usually addresses the women—and it includes men almost as an afterthought. She advances the Third Metric as the “third revolution” waged by women in history.
The first revolution, the author says, was the campaign for women to get the vote—crediting such “suffragettes” as Susan B. Anthony, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The second revolution was led by Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem; who fought to expand the role of women in society and give them “full access to the rooms and corridors of power.”
She says that those countries or economies that work long hours have more health problems and but lower productivity. In contrast, the countries whose people work shorter hours have less ailments and yet are models in high productivity. This is truly a new metric!
The book author has deep exposure to literature, not to mention her frequent trips to Greece and other centers of early civilization. In her introduction to the second W (the first is Well-Being)—Wisdom, I like her quote from T.S. Eliot, which runs:
“Where is the Life we have lost in living? / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? / Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”
How true are these lines! Many in this generation are bombarded with too much information. Many can recite facts, cite dates and churn out figures. But very few can give wise advice. Very few have the gift to offer an insight. When someone, like a whiff of fresh air, does offer startling advice—we call him guru or sage!
She prescribes spending more time for ourselves, quoting Blaise Pascal: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” She prescribes achieving “time affluence”—to have enough time to do many things. It means giving up of the nonessentials. It means avoiding being “time-deprived.”
As I often tell friends, with a play with words, “this preoccupation with plenitude and multitude has robbed us of the great for solitude.” In solitude, you can listen to your heartbeat, and there comes clear thing, new insight—thus wisdom.
The third element in the new metric is “Wonder.” The author introduces the value of a sense of wonder in our lives, by quoting St. Augustine: “Men go forth to wonder at the heights of mountains, the extent of the oceans, and the courses of the stars—and omit to wonder at themselves.”
We have been jaded, and have been habitually skeptical about things. People have been used to simply “face the hard and sad realities of life,” and those who stare such realities in the face are those we trust to guide us. Something has been lost from us, says the author.
So, she revels at this possibility: “Countless things in our daily lives can awaken the almost constant state of wonder we knew as children. But sometimes to see them we must look through a different set of eyes. The triggers are there.”
I have said before, and I will say it again. Our science teachers erred in saying that discoveries are found and inventions are made, because scientists proceed from “doubt.” That’s wrong. These scientists—from Galileo, Newton to Edison—stumbled upon discoveries and made inventions, because they were driven by a sense of wonder!
Lastly, this book offers the fourth element in the new Success Metric: Giving. It prescribes unconditional giving—not giving that expects a reward. The book says that the giver is more joyful, and his or her well-being is enhanced when she gives.
She quotes Biblical saying: “From everyone to whom much is given, much shall be required.” And yet such gesture must be accompanied by the giver. As one poet once wrote: “The gift without the giver is bare.”
She ends with these lines that must be a call to action for a new way of pursuing success:
There’s a collective longing to stop living in the shadows, to stop hurting our health and our relationships by striving so relentlessly after success as the world defines it—and instead tap into the riches, joy, and amazing possibilities that our lives embody.”
And she adds: “Let’s stay connected to the essence of who we are.” There’s much more that can be discovered in this wondrous book. You must read it to discover this real treasure of a book.
