As usual, I was sitting at work today wondering what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. The question of success always weighs heavily upon me. I'm fairly young, make a decent salary, have a nice car, blah, blah.. But am I successful? And if so, by what standards? I'd like to how do you guys measure how successful you are in life? By how much money you have in the bank? By how your peers respect you? By how many trips you take a year? By the position you hold at your work place? By how many degrees or certifications you hold? Does age play into it at all? How many of you guys can stop for a moment, reflect upon your accomplishments and can say that you are successful. Thanks.
i try not to focus too much on my own worth or indicia of success...keeps me from serving those I need to serve.
MM, So if your goal is to serve those in need, and you are able to. Isn't that a measure of success? Don't you have think everyone needs some standard to measure what they've done, in order to see where they are going?
i'm simply saying i try not to focus on it...not advocating that practice for others...it's just more inwardly focused than I'd like to be...also not saying that i don't focus on it from time to time...just saying i try not to....scared of turning more attention on me rather than God and others...scared of allowing myself arrogance..
i'm a loser who hasn't enjoyed a modicum of success this entire year. up to this point, i measured my success by my job and position within a company.
i measure success by how happy i am in life. if i fail a test that i don't care about but had a great day snowboarding - well, i'm feelin alright. if i get a huge ass bonus for something...i feel pretty damn happy. if i get a scholarship i don't give a damn about - who cares? but if it was to the school i want and would help me get the degree i need...then hell yeah - that is a good feelin. if i ever decided to live in a foreign country, had a little shack, but loved every day there - then i'd feel successful. the reason for money is to get what you want...but if you can get what you want without money - aren't you just as successful? (i don't know if any of that made sense...basically, i feel successful when i feel happy...but what makes me most happy.?.?.?)
I agree with 3814. Comparing yourself to other people isn't a fun way to spend your life. Do what makes you happy, don't worry with how "successful" other people say you are.
I don't think there can be a standard measure of success, because we all have different goals. You should probably measure your own success based on your priorities in life. If your priority is money, then measure it by your bank account. If your priority is happiness, then measure it by the joy in your heart. My personal priority is to simply be a good person. I measure it by the amount of happiness/comfort/love I can offer to other living things.
money----you can have all the money and corporate power in the world and you'd be a fool to think you're successful. of course, if you want that sort of thing, by your measure you would be! i've been in proximity of enough high-powered individuals to see their lives and their goals. for me, it's not worth the years of your life that you throw away working for such temporal things. some people measure success by what they can accumulate - boats, houses, cars, wives, etc. then of course there is happiness -- but that seems to me to be self-interested. being happy is pretty simple if you let go of the trappings that our material society brought us up to believe as "success". so i suppose finding the truth about who you are and your fellow living creatures is "eureka!" "success!" and then happiness and all that other good stuff is a defnite plus. but i think success is driven by wants/needs and some people have more wants than others.
Excellent points guys! I myself am a shallow, self-centered person who measures his success on material things. Since way back to a time I can't even remember, I've been driven by "the plan." You know, high school, college, job, wife, house, kids, and a heart attack. But in the past couple of years, I've started to see light on either side of by blinders. I don't know why I establish my self worth based upon material gains, position, and money -- I've always thought it was the way it is. To catch a glimpse and realize that the lines that I've drawn for myself (and I steal this from 'Six Feet Under') are all in my head, is pretty damn scary. Anyway, this is not Sunday Reflections, but I am curious as to what other people estimate their success upon. I appreciate the responses!! btw. drapg - Just because you are unemployed doesn't make you a loser. I do remember reading that you employ a vigorous running schedule. To have that discipline and will power is something that I'm envious of. Keep your head up, you'll find a job soon.
Man **** that. Money is good. Are there rich unhappy people? Certainly. Is it better to have money than not? Hell yes. Do you want to spend 22 hours a day working and die at 45 of a heart attack? No. Do you want to be 65 and working at McDonalds cause you snowboarded and backpacked from commune to commune most of your life? Hell no. Of course it depends on what you want to do. If you have always wanted to be a Professor, if you have your Phd by 30 you're doing ok. If you want to be a lawyer and you have your JD by 30 you are probably a little behind. If you are happy as a truck driver with your wife and 8 kids, hey who cares, you're happy. But don't think that money or material things are somehow inherently 'bad.' Gimme a big TV with a satellite dish. I can leave it off if I want to 'read a book' or climb a freakin mountain. Gimme a nice car instead of a crappy one. Gimme a nice house instead of a rat infested box. There is a reason there is the word 'BETTER.' If I ain't got the cash for it I DON'T HAVE THAT CHOICE. And the only mountain I'll be climbing is the mountain of bills and debt I've accumulated while working my broke dick paying job heavy liftin at the plant. But do be careful about accumulating multiple wives at the same time. That is illegal most places in the US (accept Arizona apparently )...
coma, You must've been reading my mind when posting A friend and I had this very same conversation yesterday for over 2 hours. We were talking about how we would look back at life and decide that we achieved success, and before that ... what exactly we wanted from life. I personally don't want my status or my wealth to be a measurement of my success, I think there is something more important. I basically would consider my life successful knowing that I've been able to make a positive difference in someone elses life, to know that I was able to make some meaningful contribution to society, as a whole. --rockit
Hayes: Money isn't the root of all evil. The LOVE of money is. Any Bible will tell you that. Ultimately, material posessions, status, wealth and all that make life in this society easier but they aren't the be-all-end-all of living. As the saying goes, you can't take it with you. Having external success isn't a bad thing. Needing it is. Enough really is enough.
I hear ya. I'm not saying money is bad. Rich people aren't unhappy, all the time. I think the Gates are pretty happy people and the Gates Foundation is doing some pretty cool stuff around the world. Money can certainly be good. All I'm saying is that if you're gonna base your success (i.e. self worth) on monetary/material success, it's not worth it. When is it enough? Yeah I got a HDTV right now but damm I want that plasma screen. I'm working 20 hours days but hey, maybe if I stick it out a couple more years I can hit that six figure mark. I'm getting my kids a Corolla but hey, I'd be more successful if I can find the kid a low end Beamer. And it goes on and on man---money isn't bad, it can do a lot of things worthwhile, but if you're gonna base your success on stuff like that, you'll be forever wanting. And I can guarantee you that most of the executives I've seen have extra-marital relationships. Not that's a bad thing if that's what you want. BTW, your'e the first person ever I've heard used the term broke dick outside of my office. One of the great things in life is the right to property/pursuit of happiness, right? And I hear ya, money does go a long way towards exercising that right... but when you're on the short road outta here, I can tell you that you're not going to judge yourself base on how many zeroes you have in your bank account. Well, maybe some people do, then go ahead, strive towards that goal! I personally think the opportunity cost of going through the corporate ladder versue enjoying, really enjoying, your twenties and thirties isn't worth it. I think we're saying the same ideas on different sides of the coin, though.
Want to measure your success? Money isn't the way to do it. Only shallow people measure their success by how much money they make, whether they are Andy Fastow or a homeless person. Read the following 12 guidelines. In my opinion, the more of these guidelines you adhere to, the more of a success you are. Remember this ALWAYS: Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way. 1. Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special. 2. Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you. 3. Don't take for granted the things closest to you heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless. 4. Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life. 5. Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. 6. Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us together. 7. Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave. 8. Don't shut love out of you life by saying it's impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings. 9. Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going. 10. Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated. 11. Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily. 12. Don' t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.
