What is Success?
Success.
Everyone knows of or has heard that term before. But what do people really think it means? Well, it can have multiple definitions. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines success as “the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame; the correct or desired result of an attempt; someone or something that is successful, a person or thing that succeeds” (merriam-webster.com). However, that is a very scientific answer and not very relatable. Some people believe success is based on money and fame, while others think that success is determined by the amount of happiness you feel.
Many people believe that success comes one hundred percent from how wealthy you are. If you don’t have money, then you definitely wont be considered successful. Think about it. When you think of a famous singer or actor, more often than not you know that they have a lot of money. Many young children think that that is how you succeed in this world. If you ask any child what they want to be when they’re older, they usually say astronaut or doctor or something similar. All of those occupations are high paying jobs. Also, most kids want to be a famous athlete or on television. If you ask them why, the most common answer is so that everyone will know their name and that they can have a lot of money.
Even though many people believe that success is dependent on how much money you have, there are still many definitions of success that pay no attention to money or fame. Personally, I believe that success is something completely different than what the number on your bank statement is. Success, to me, means being happy. No matter what your job is, where you live, how much you make a year, etc. It is truly dependent on what you make of everyday. If you want to go around and be angry at everything, then that is your prerogative. But that won’t get you very far in life. When I think of success, I automatically think of the future where I live in a house with my husband and kids, who are all healthy. If that is what ends up happening in the future, then I believe that I will have succeeded.
However, if the term success never existed, then life would be completely different. People wouldn’t be breaking their backs to be the most successful person. They most likely would try to undermine someone else in order to get ahead. Without success, there would be no bar for people to meet. You wouldn’t be able to compare yourself to anybody else for that matter. They wouldn’t know what would be considered a good accomplishment or a bad accomplishment. You would just be living your life and not worried about what you would need to do in order to succeed.
Dr. Howard Gardner is an American developmental psychologist and professor at the Harvard University. He has given many lectures around the world about how children think. He is quoted saying “We found that the best and brightest, those young people who are the elite of your schools and are already winning awards, knew what good work was. Some of them tried to be excellent and ethical and engaged, but many of them told us that they could not afford to be ethical. Because, they said, it was very important for them to succeed, to have money, power, prestige, prominence.” (Gardner). By saying this, he is talking about how we are teaching our younger generation that you have to be unethical in order to be successful. When Dr. Gardner did this experiment, many of the kids said that they didn’t see anything wrong with it since it would help them get ahead in life.
Based on these findings, it leads me to one question. Are we, as a society, encouraging young adults to be unethical? If we are showing children that it is okay to lie on a resume or even copy somebody else’s work to help improve their paper, are we really benefiting them? Children see how their parents react to certain things and try to mimic that same expression. By doing this, young children will believe that success is whatever their parents think it is. If that means that being unethical in order to gain social status is the only option, then that’s what they will do. Honestly, this could be unlearned. But it would be very difficult to do, simply because it’s a difficult task to change anybody’s opinion.
Works Cited
Gardner, Howard, Dr. "Building for the Future." American Libraries 34.4 (2003): 40-62. 13 Jan.
2008. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
"Howard Gardner: Five Minds for the Future / Ross Institute Summer Academy 2007." YouTube.
YouTube, 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Everyone knows of or has heard that term before. But what do people really think it means? Well, it can have multiple definitions. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines success as “the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame; the correct or desired result of an attempt; someone or something that is successful, a person or thing that succeeds” (merriam-webster.com). However, that is a very scientific answer and not very relatable. Some people believe success is based on money and fame, while others think that success is determined by the amount of happiness you feel.
Many people believe that success comes one hundred percent from how wealthy you are. If you don’t have money, then you definitely wont be considered successful. Think about it. When you think of a famous singer or actor, more often than not you know that they have a lot of money. Many young children think that that is how you succeed in this world. If you ask any child what they want to be when they’re older, they usually say astronaut or doctor or something similar. All of those occupations are high paying jobs. Also, most kids want to be a famous athlete or on television. If you ask them why, the most common answer is so that everyone will know their name and that they can have a lot of money.
Even though many people believe that success is dependent on how much money you have, there are still many definitions of success that pay no attention to money or fame. Personally, I believe that success is something completely different than what the number on your bank statement is. Success, to me, means being happy. No matter what your job is, where you live, how much you make a year, etc. It is truly dependent on what you make of everyday. If you want to go around and be angry at everything, then that is your prerogative. But that won’t get you very far in life. When I think of success, I automatically think of the future where I live in a house with my husband and kids, who are all healthy. If that is what ends up happening in the future, then I believe that I will have succeeded.
However, if the term success never existed, then life would be completely different. People wouldn’t be breaking their backs to be the most successful person. They most likely would try to undermine someone else in order to get ahead. Without success, there would be no bar for people to meet. You wouldn’t be able to compare yourself to anybody else for that matter. They wouldn’t know what would be considered a good accomplishment or a bad accomplishment. You would just be living your life and not worried about what you would need to do in order to succeed.
Dr. Howard Gardner is an American developmental psychologist and professor at the Harvard University. He has given many lectures around the world about how children think. He is quoted saying “We found that the best and brightest, those young people who are the elite of your schools and are already winning awards, knew what good work was. Some of them tried to be excellent and ethical and engaged, but many of them told us that they could not afford to be ethical. Because, they said, it was very important for them to succeed, to have money, power, prestige, prominence.” (Gardner). By saying this, he is talking about how we are teaching our younger generation that you have to be unethical in order to be successful. When Dr. Gardner did this experiment, many of the kids said that they didn’t see anything wrong with it since it would help them get ahead in life.
Based on these findings, it leads me to one question. Are we, as a society, encouraging young adults to be unethical? If we are showing children that it is okay to lie on a resume or even copy somebody else’s work to help improve their paper, are we really benefiting them? Children see how their parents react to certain things and try to mimic that same expression. By doing this, young children will believe that success is whatever their parents think it is. If that means that being unethical in order to gain social status is the only option, then that’s what they will do. Honestly, this could be unlearned. But it would be very difficult to do, simply because it’s a difficult task to change anybody’s opinion.
Works Cited
Gardner, Howard, Dr. "Building for the Future." American Libraries 34.4 (2003): 40-62. 13 Jan.
2008. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
"Howard Gardner: Five Minds for the Future / Ross Institute Summer Academy 2007." YouTube.
YouTube, 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.