The Concept of Success
What is success? And can it actually be defined objectively? In my opinion, success is a subjective concept, as each person defines it based on his or her goals and perception. Hence, the term itself should be considered inherently ever-changing about the individual and their particular life stages. That being said, even when it comes to the individual, the concept keeps evolving as they progress. As such, this article’s main purpose is to touch upon the concept of success, starting with its development from the early up to later stages in life, along with looking into the factors that can hinder it.
First, the meaning of the term “success” keeps evolving as we go through the journey of what is called “life”. At the early stages, in other terms, “childhood”, the concept can embrace a different meaning. For instance, what is considered a success for a child can be as simple as learning to ride a bike, get their first performance star in class, or even win a soccer match? Although this might be considered naive to an adult, it rather exemplifies the term’s core nature. Moreover, heading to the primary stages of adulthood, an individual’s perspective changes, in which they start looking at success from a slightly progressive point of view. This can be expressed by graduating high school or getting accepted to the desired university or college. As such, what needs to be acknowledged here is that success pertains to the individual human being and their distinctive aspirations, even when it comes to being at a particular stage. Furthermore, as the person moves forward in life, the term itself keeps changing based on the level or phase they are in. For example, let’s say an individual recently graduated university or college, now they have a dream job to chase after or even start their own business. As such, pursuing that goal and achieving it is what defines success to them. And as you go on chasing other ventures in life, you are bound to open up other doors, and the process continues. Hence, this hunger and persistence for success never fade away unless you stop striving to achieve your goals. Fundamentally, the term “success” is a continuous process fueled by an individual’s own motives and goals. Therefore, going through the different stages of life, we can clearly see that there is a constant change in the term that pertains to the stages themselves and the individual.
I would now like to touch upon the idea that success should be constrained to certain criteria or category. It is here that I, as an individual, strongly disagree with this perception. From my point of view, there should not be a standardized criterion that determines if individuals are to be successful or not. Because this completely neglects the fact that each person is unique in their own way and has different talents and aspirations in life. If a person does not graduate high school or university, then that does not mean that they are bound to be a failure. Rather they just chose the path that is more suitable for them. That being said, we all have our own paths and recognizing what is ours to take and what is not simply directs us towards our own success. At the end of the day, even Albert Einstein was considered to be a failure in school. Yet, he is considered the main contributor to the scientific field and recognised as an intelligence icon. The point being taken here is that individuals cannot be forced to fit in a specific category to determine the course of their career or life. There should be a consideration that there are 7 billion individuals in this world, each with different preferences, goals, and dreams in life. Hence, constraining or ruling them out just because they do not fit in particular criteria means the possibility of depriving the world of great inventions and life-changing ideas.
Moving forward, the next point I would like to talk about is limiting success to a period of time or stage in life. As I clearly state, individuals should not be at a certain level or stage to determine whether they are successful. They do not have to enter university, graduate, and get a job at a particular age just because society expects them to do so since every individual has their own path in life. While some achieve theirs at an earlier stage, others have theirs at different or later timings. Hence, as a society, we need to acknowledge that human beings are bound by their own paths, aspirations, and timings. So, what can take one person to achieve does not necessarily have to apply to the other, even when it comes to their own goals since each has their own agenda.
Although society has progressed throughout time, it is still clinging to views that limit its own success and development. That being said, the notion that success comes with age and experience is one of those views. In fact, what this point completely lacks is the understanding that age and experience are not always correlated. For instance, an individual can work in a specific field for decades and not necessarily have the proper tools to do the job based on the changing demands and factors in today’s world. So, it is up to the person to catch up with the world and keep updated with the vast amount of available information. As such, many will argue that theory can never replace an actual job experience, and I do agree with that. However, we cannot rely solely on experience since it does not clearly indicate that the years spent on the job were actually developmental. Thus, what is to be pointed out is that there are many factors to consider when it comes to looking upon an individual in terms of career or personal accomplishment and success. Most importantly, we should make sure that all are considered equally and that there are no preferences based on society’s common view.
Moreover, it is apparent that not only recently that society started recognizing young successes among the world listings. This is due to the long-lasting view that major and life-changing successes are only obtained with significant experience. For instance, let’s take the example of Forbes magazine top billionaires, we can see that most of the individuals on the list are at a later stage in life, and there is only a handful of them under the age of 30. However, with the introduction of young self-made billionaires, we are starting to see more successful youths entering the list. The reason behind it is the change in society’s perception, which created a much more convenient motive and path for individuals to create their own businesses and achieve life-changing accomplishments at an early stage. Thus, it is evident here that broadening society’s perspective and letting go of common perception can induce individuals to come up with world-changing ideas and achievements. The goal is to make sure that we are not being attached to old perceptions in an ever-changing world where there is a sea of untapped talent and potential ready to strive. In fact, we as a society should make sure that our youths have the proper tools and opportunities to strive and achieve in this fast-growing world.
In conclusion, the term “success” can be defined in many ways since it is the individuals who create it and not the other way around. Therefore, as we had a look at the evolution of the term and the factors that facilitate or limit its occurrence in society, I shall say that we as a society need to encourage individuals to achieve whatever they desire and not discourage them by deeming it as unrealistic or impossible. Because, looking back at history, a lot of the things that we use today were considered to be impossible back then. This can apply to the Internet, smartphones, cars, aeroplanes, and the list goes on. Hence, to conclude, the most important thing for us to do as a society is to make sure that every individual has the opportunity to create his or her own successes. It is only by then that society would truly develop and reach its full potential.
