{"id":1885,"date":"2026-09-21T11:22:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T10:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mupuc.de\/?p=1885"},"modified":"2026-09-21T13:43:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T12:43:04","slug":"why-success-becomes-normal-so-quickly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mupuc.de\/en\/why-success-becomes-normal-so-quickly","title":{"rendered":"Why Success Becomes Normal So Quickly"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

Why Success Becomes Normal So Quickly<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n\n

And why companies need a future people can look forward to<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\"A<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n

I\u2019ve come to believe: we don\u2019t just want to reach many things.<\/p>\n

We want to be on the way to them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n We look forward to a trip for months. We plan a house, a new car, a professional
\n challenge, or a big project. We explore possibilities, make decisions, and imagine
\n what it will feel like once everything is done.\n <\/p>\n

Then the moment arrives.<\/p>\n

\n The house is move-in ready. The car is in the driveway. The contract is signed.
\n The project is finished.\n <\/p>\n

For a moment, it feels great.<\/p>\n

And shortly after, it\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n

Not bad. Not worthless. Just no longer extraordinary.<\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n The special thing doesn\u2019t necessarily lose its value. It loses its tension.
\n <\/strong>\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Anticipation Lives on Possibility<\/h2>\n

Maybe that\u2019s why anticipation is often the greatest joy.<\/p>\n

\n As long as something still lies ahead of us, it isn\u2019t fully fixed. In our imagination
\n there\u2019s no routine, no maintenance, no compromises, and no small disappointments.\n <\/p>\n

The future lies open before us.<\/p>\n

\n We don\u2019t just enjoy the expected outcome. We enjoy every possibility we attach to it.\n <\/p>\n

\n The finished result can hardly compete with that idea. It\u2019s concrete. It has edges.
\n And above all, it becomes part of our everyday life very quickly.\n <\/p>\n

\n Psychology calls this hedonic adaptation: people adapt astonishingly fast to
\n improvements.\n <\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n What was a big wish yesterday is reality today and normal tomorrow.
\n <\/strong>\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Goals Give Us Direction, Not Lasting Happiness<\/h2>\n

We like to tell ourselves:<\/p>\n

\n Once I reach this goal, I\u2019ll be satisfied.
\n Once the project is finished, things will calm down.
\n Once I reach this position, this house, or this financial security, I\u2019ll have arrived.\n <\/p>\n

But we never really arrive.<\/p>\n

\n An achieved goal usually changes our state only temporarily. It creates a moment
\n of joy, pride, or relief. Then the adjustment begins.\n <\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean goals are pointless.<\/p>\n

Quite the opposite.<\/p>\n

\n Without goals we lack direction. Without challenges we lack development. And without
\n something to look forward to, life quickly turns into managing what\u2019s already been
\n achieved.\n <\/p>\n

\n Goals focus energy. They put us in motion. They force us to decide and give our
\n actions direction.\n <\/p>\n

\n

They\u2019re just not built for lasting satisfaction.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Even a Successful Ending Is a Loss<\/h2>\n

When a big project ends, it\u2019s not only a problem that disappears.<\/p>\n

A task disappears too.<\/p>\n

\n Suddenly the open questions are gone, the decisions, the progress, and sometimes
\n even the conflicts that occupied us for months.\n <\/p>\n

We won. But the playing field is gone.<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s why an unexpected emptiness sometimes follows big successes.<\/p>\n

\n Not because the success was worthless. But because the path there gave our life more
\n structure, tension, and meaning than the finished result did.\n <\/p>\n

\n

\n \u201cDone\u201d is therefore a strange state.<\/strong>
\n It\u2019s success and loss at the same time.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Same Thing Happens in Companies<\/h2>\n

Companies set goals.<\/p>\n

\n A certain revenue target has to be hit. A product has to ship. A funding round has
\n to close, a new market has to open, or a company has to be sold successfully.\n <\/p>\n

People work toward it for months or years.<\/p>\n

Then the goal is reached.<\/p>\n

\n There\u2019s a presentation, a bonus, maybe a celebration. The numbers get shown.
\n The success gets praised.\n <\/p>\n

And the next Monday, the new quarter begins.<\/p>\n

\n The extraordinary result becomes the new baseline. The record becomes the new minimum.
\n Success becomes expectation.\n <\/p>\n

What was celebrated yesterday is part of today\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

Companies get used to success too.<\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n When all that follows is a higher revenue target, no new meaning is created.
\n Only more pressure is.
\n <\/strong>\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A Goal Is Not Yet a Vision<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe want to grow 20 percent next year\u201d is not a vision.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a goal.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe want to become market leader\u201d usually isn\u2019t a vision either. It describes a
\n position, not yet a future that makes a recognizable difference for customers,
\n employees, or society.\n <\/p>\n

A real vision answers a bigger question:<\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n What future do we want to create that wouldn\u2019t exist without us?
\n <\/em><\/strong>\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n It has to be ambitious. Bigger than what feels comfortably achievable with today\u2019s
\n structures.\n <\/p>\n

Maybe even so big that it initially seems almost unreachable.<\/p>\n

But it has to stay credible.<\/p>\n

\n People need to be able to see that this future is possible and that their work
\n contributes to making it real.\n <\/p>\n

A good vision isn\u2019t fantasy.<\/p>\n

\n

\n It\u2019s a plausible possibility, big enough to move people.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The North Star Prevents Managing What\u2019s Already Been Achieved<\/h2>\n

The vision describes the future a company wants to create.<\/p>\n

The North Star keeps the direction stable.<\/p>\n

Strategic goals mark the next milestones.<\/p>\n

Operational measures make sure the company actually moves.<\/p>\n

\n The North Star doesn\u2019t have to be reached every year. Its job is different. It shows
\n whether the company is still heading the right way.\n <\/p>\n

That creates something many companies lack: shared anticipation.<\/p>\n

\n Not the shallow enthusiasm of a motivational event. But the well-founded expectation
\n of working together on something meaningful.\n <\/p>\n

What\u2019s true for people is true for companies too:<\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n Without a picture of the future, success quickly turns into managing what\u2019s
\n already been achieved.
\n <\/em><\/strong>\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Vision Alone Isn\u2019t Enough, Though<\/h2>\n

\n A big sentence on the wall doesn\u2019t sustain a feeling of joy, belonging, or recognition.\n <\/p>\n

\n For that, people need to experience in everyday life that something is moving.\n <\/p>\n

They need to understand:<\/p>\n