Is success all there is in life?

I’ve been employed for more than three years already in the Construction industry. My commitment is due to my goals in life. Without goals, you’re just gambling in life not knowing where it would take you. Your decisions would be a convoluted mess resulting to nothing gained. I aim to be the best, we all do. I want to be at the top of the corporate ladder someday, who wouldn’t? In reality, I’m not the only one with this mindset. Everyone desires something to achieve their goals. At some point, they will act on it to reach the highest level of success. 

1. Success is a social construct.

Success is a social construct because society dictates that there should be one. It is ingrained in our heads that we should strive for achievements or goals; achievements that are given significance by society, which may not be beneficial for us other than giving us prestige and access to livelihood. If society invents a new way of defining success, achievement based success would be for nothing. Just like how paper currency is held in such high importance because society dictates that it should. Why do we need to endure for the achievements society held in such high regard, even at the expense of our own happiness? In a perfect world, everyone is happy, and successful.

2. Our own version of success.

I noticed, everyone desires to be the very best, they would go to great lengths to perfect their craft, or spend countless hours mastering a skill. But, who wouldn’t, right? It raises us up among the stock, opportunities come to us, we gain more respect from others, or earn more. It gives us a sense of entitlement. It makes us feel superior. Prestige is given to us as a cultural norm at which societal hierarchy function, which may not be morally acceptable. At the end of the day, we all have our own version of success and our ways of doing it. To some, earning money is their version of success. Others may view success as reaching the highest form of spirituality, or amass immense wealth. My point is, success is subjective that is deeply influenced by the society we function in. We set high standards for ourselves aligned with our capabilities. This is the urge that push us to pursue our own version of success. I won’t be hypocritical and deny that I set low standards for myself, I myself has high standards for my goals in life. It seems that success is all too important for us, but is success all there is in life?

3. Are we truly happy?

In our climb towards success, we are convinced by our experiences that life is a race, neglecting that there is life beyond this bubble. Due to this, our body may betray us. It may not keep up with our urge, we will feel physically and mentally weak, and for what? Is it all worth it? Did it ever made us truly happy? Did we truly ever live? Or are we hiding behind our success, without truly ever being happy?

As we mature in life, we tend to believe that success is all there is in life because we are battered with responsibilities, and problems. It is logical to seek success to provide for yourself and those you consider dear to you. Our mind is focused to reach the ultimate goal so we tend to overlook the joy hidden in life. If we just take a pause from our struggle and reevaluate our thoughts, we may rekindle the joy we felt from the past.

4. Take a pause and remember the things that made you happy.

In our grit and grind everyday, our hassles going to and from work, keeping up with meetings, pleasing our clients, or beating deadlines; we tend to forget what life really has to offer. Remember when you are young? You played and played outdoors, doing silly things with your friends, or hangout for hours and hours without a single thought of responsibilities. Our problems back then are so minuscule compared to the present. Our everyday problems would be how to get past mom to play outside, how to get home early from school to watch our favorite animes, and many more. Achieving this brings us great joy, but are we successful as a kid, you may ask? If we look back, our goals in the past coincides with every typical kid; playing outside, watching our favorite animes, etc., so in hindsight, we are indeed successful as a kid.

In our everyday adult lives, our problems, and responsibilities may catch up to us. There will come a time that we will feel all the burdens of the world riding in our shoulders, and with these stressful times; we will be seeking peace. Perhaps, taking a break from work, spend quality time with our loved ones, or having a vacation. From these peaceful times; a quick pause from the everyday struggles, you will look back in the past reminiscing the times when you truly have no problems, just to escape from reality which has made you oblivious to the joy around you. A time when you were a little boy. A time when life was so simple. A time when no real problems cloud your mind. You’ll experience epiphany on how simple life was back then and how happy you are with the trivial things.

5. Reflect..

At this point, you’ll be forced to make a decision just like everybody else. Either press onward towards success unhappily, or get back in touch with the kid inside you, and consider things you love to do in life. Life isn’t solely about success, it’s how you live it. Life has a lot to offer and you must exploit it. Success will always be there around the corner, it will never go away, but don’t let your struggle towards success ruin your character, but rather enhance it. Do the things that you love. Always keep in touch with the little kid inside you. Life isn’t a book already written, but rather a working composition. You write your own story. It’s always about bringing joy to yourself and to those you consider dear to you. With these, all else fall to place and life would be a better one.