By Konstantina Kerpinioti,
Success is very important in modern society, as it is linked to the social acceptance, self-esteem, and self-confidence of an individual. But what does success really mean?
Of course, everyone has a different view of what success means, so the term “success” is subjective. However, should you ask a lot of people about what they perceive as success, the majority of them will give you pretty much the same answer. This is due to the fact that society in general has given a specific definition to the concept of success. Therefore, a person who is considered to be successful by society has always defined qualifications.
In particular, most people determine success in relation to the profession and salary of a person. For example, a lawyer with a high income is more “likable” in society than someone who may have a job of lower prestige, which does not provide them with a sufficient salary. Furthermore, having a family or getting married is considered to be significant for success, meaning that you have “completed” the “cycle of life”. Popularity is also an essential criterion, in terms of how successful a person is for the community/society. The more popular someone is, the more successful they are considered by society. From the aforementioned, we can conclude that succeeding nowadays requires having a fairly lucrative profession and being likable by a huge percentage of people at the same time.
All these qualifications seem to be valuable. Nevertheless, humanity has formed a wrong opinion on success. Under no circumstances do I intend to underestimate those who are considered to be the people that we have to be like. Nevertheless, I would like to highlight the importance of being a good-hearted person, first and foremost. From my point of view, an individual who is successful assists their fellow person whenever necessary, without asking for anything in return. Apart from that, a good-hearted person is honest and does not behave to others in a horrible way.
At this point, I would like to point out that many individuals who pursue high-prestige jobs often turn out to be involved in illegal activities and are disrespectful towards others. On the contrary, individuals who pursue low-prestige jobs have often been proven to be more honest and good-natured. Consequently, one of the judging criteria of being successful should be one’s character, something that, unfortunately, is difficult to happen, due to the fact that people are accustomed to being attracted to the surface, without exploring the inner world of a person.
Another reason why success must be defined differently is that many people — in their agony to be accepted by society — sacrifice their personal happiness and focus on gaining the qualifications that society considers important. In other words, they choose to adopt a lifestyle that does not meet their desires — or their expectations — with the sole purpose of being considered successful. As a result, these people are unhappy because of the uncontrolled stress they deal with on a daily basis, which stems from their need to be able to cope with their job and all the other social responsibilities simultaneously. Apart from that, as soon as they realize that their goals may not be achievable, they fall into depression. So, as you can figure out, the desire of some individuals to be liked by others deprives them of the opportunity to live a calm, healthy, and happy life.
Therefore, is a person who sacrifices their happiness to please others considered successful? In my opinion, they are not. On the contrary, I strongly believe that a happy person is a successful person. Happiness is what is more significant in life, more important than money and social acceptance. Being happy gives meaning to your life — and do not forget that all people are born in order to lead happy lives. If you want to be a lawyer and this decision makes you truly happy, be a lawyer. If you want to become an actor or actress, make your dream come true. If you want to become a hairdresser and this is how you have dreamed your life, go for it. The point of it all is to be happy.
Taking everything into consideration, success is a combination of kindness and happiness for me. It is not worth satisfying others more than yourself. Be good, generous, kind, and, mostly, happy, and then you will be successful.
