Do you know when a hill turns into a mountain? Bit of an obscure question?
This is the question we pondered the other day, and on investigation found that although there is a rough guideline, there is no specific point where a hill can be classed as a mountain, and it often depends on what is around that hill/mountain.
In a similar way, when does one become classed as successful? What is the criteria to meet this outcome?
If you go to the dictionary success is defined as something along the lines of “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose’. We can say we are successful at a particular task or skill, but how do we define an entire person as successful?
Think about someone you see as successful. What in particular gives this impression? Is it financial, lifestyle, personal traits, or something very different? How do we define success, and does it come from internal or external forces?
The perception of success can be misconstrued. A person can have a thriving business and appear to be successful, but if their family life is falling apart, that is not success.
If we compare to others like comparing the hill mound to the area surrounding it, we can see ourselves as successful, or not. I have wealthy friends and compared to them I am not successful, yet I also have friends that are not well off, and that would make me successful. I have a lifestyle that some would love to have, making me successful, but there are some people that have a lifestyle I would love, so maybe I am not so successful.
Should we compare to others? Are we conforming to what society is telling us? Comparing perceived success can bring out arrogance and greediness in some people. It can also be a factor in depression and suicide.
We often hear parents tell children to go for jobs that pay well or develop certain relationships, or choose a particular lifestyle. But will this make them truly happy? We don’t want them to do things just to please us, we want them to feel inspired and happy, through achieving their own level of goals, their own successes.
Teach them to set their own goals across all the various areas of their life and not that which is expected from others and society.
How often do we see someone under money stress, or work or relationship stress not be able to cope with the other areas of their life? We need to ensure that by being strong on one area doesn’t jeopardize all facets of our lives and those around us. When one area is not going so well, we can still be thankful for other areas of our life and not allow one area to define our entire being.
There are so many aspects to our lives, family, lifestyle, health, money, friends, and an internal sense of happiness. Setting our own definition of success stops us feeling inadequate, we can take ownership of our own successes, and in turn achieve even more.
Let’s teach our children early to succeed by their own standards to set them up for a more fulfilling life.
