This is a question that I have been asking myself for some time now. I often think “well have I been successful?” What am I even measuring that against? Life isn’t school, there is no criteria sheet to mark against your life. It’s not like well 1997 was an “A” but the next three years after was averaging a “D” so, up to 2000 you life grade is a “C+”. Bit ridiculous really.
So what even is success? Hubby has a mate who all he wanted was a wonderful women to marry and great kids. Anything else was just a bonus. Guess what……he’s received heaps of bonus’s and a great wife and kids. But is he successful? Again, who’s standard are we measuring it against? Too many people always want to pass judgement (on themselves and others) about if they are successful or not.
What does success even mean? I work as a high school teacher. Success means so many different things. But ultimately success always seems to mean doing well. Getting good grades, applying for leadership position or “winning” in a sporting endeavour.
But what about all this kids who are successful who don’t get the “good” grades, who don’t want to be leading anything and who find sport well….not for them. What about the child with any type of disability who for them holding their head up to look at someone is their success. Success, like people, is individual and one of a kind.
I feel that as a society we need to start to re-define what success is. I look at my boys who do not get great grades, who have no desire to be leading any clubs or student councils and definitely only want to do sport cause it’s enjoyable. I’ve been that parent where my boys make terrible decisions and are in trouble. But not once did I feel they were or won’t be successful.
I guess all I’m asking of you as the reader to think about is please stop measure your idea of success against others. Maybe if we started to look at each other as individual we may be able to look at success not as something that can be measured as a collective but, as many individual winning acts that form a persons life. I think that would be far more interesting as ones measure of success.
Grateful Wonder 