Serious Scared of Success, Ever heard of it?

[Shu]

In life when you are in prep school or even in college or trade school or just go hoof it, it is presumed that some day you will know what you want to be and you will study towards it. The classes you so study, will attribute to your major. You will then go forth and learn what it means to be successful. Has success ever scared you though?

What does success mean to you? I put this in the temple of the ancients, because it's to inspire some critical thinking about life in general. Some folks have actually written full blown essays in regards to this. Though I wanted to hear some personal perspectives from FFF members. Hope to hear some good things

 

[Lirael]

Success as it is often marked - by fame and money - scares me. I have always felt sorry for the men and women who lack private livesand are treated as objects of entertainment because they chose a career in music and/or film or wrote a popular book. Some people choose fame, believing it will be glamorous, but I doubt many enjoy the reality. :/ In terms of money... I feel truly appalled when I hear of extremely high wages. The chairman of Sainsbury's gets £900,000 a YEAR. Even with tax, he has more per year than some people will earn in 20. He believes he deserves that money because he works hard, but so do a lot of other people. People in retail and catering work hard. People who clean work hard. No matter what job you have, it is possible to work hard.

I'm deviating a little here. What I want to say is that success should not be measured by money in the way it is. It should be measured by how hard you work in the job you have. Money, for me, has little to do with it. Wages imply that the people at the top are more successful and more hard-working. I don't believe for a moment that that's the case.

I personally believe success lies in a) fulfilling your dreams, b) having positive relationships and c) living comfortably. I believe it lies in having a job you love and in being surrounded by people you care about.

Fulfilling your dreams:
success lies in leading the life you want and in visiting those places you hoped to see. It lies in learning to dance or play an instrument, just as you had said you'd do one day, and in loving your child. It lies in daring to do that crazy activity - skiing, flying in a hot air balloon, hang-gliding. Don't let life stop you from doing these things! They're short experiences, but they create lifelong memories and they are worth it.

Positive relationships:
Success also lies in meeting someone and falling in love with them. It's about treating people well and being treated well. It's about having people who will support you through adversity and who you can celebrate successes with.


Living comfortably:
Money sadly does have to play a part in success as a comfortable life in a comfortable home with good food, clothes and water does cost money. I would feel successful in a clean home with enough space for the people living in it, good quality beds and furniture and some nice decorations/ornaments. Two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and kitchen would do quite nicely as long as there's no mould, the windows keep the place dry and the place is respected and taken care of (I'd take care of it. . I'd also like to think I can go out for a fancy meal perhaps four times a year to celebrate things (I love my food).