About this episode

This episode explores why achieving goals often fails to bring lasting happiness and offers insights on finding fulfillment from within.

I once got a 25% pay rise. It felt euphoric. Within weeks, that feeling was gone. There's research on lottery winners showing the same thing: happiness spikes, then drops right back to where it started. In this episode I ask why success, whether it's a pay rise, a promotion, or a goal you've worked years for, so often fails to give us lasting happiness. I share the old story of the Chinese farmer whose horse ran away, and how "good" and "bad" are really just judgments we place on events. I also tell you about a violin competition I entered as a teenager, where I played the same piece twice with wildly different results, once with no pressure and once with everything to prove. That contrast taught me the difference between success as a place to get to (outside in) and success as a place to come from (inside out). If you've ever achieved something you wanted and still felt a little hollow, this episode explains why, and what to do instead.

People in this episode

Host: Russell Davis

Topics covered

• happiness
• success
• personal growth
• judgment
• life lessons

Keywords

• happiness
• success
• pay rise
• violin competition
• Chinese farmer
• personal growth
• judgment

More episodes of Clarity Within with Russell Davis

• I Stopped Pretending I Was Okay · July 20, 2026 · 13 min
• How to be more present · July 6, 2026 · 11 min
• What Stress Is Really Telling You · June 29, 2026 · 12 min
• How to Get Unstuck (And It's Not More Self Discipline!) · June 22, 2026 · 15 min
• How to Let Go of Fear and Move Forward · June 15, 2026 · 13 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Clarity Within with Russell Davis podcast page.