Success in life is subjective and complex, with various definitions. “Know thyself” is crucial for success, as is maintaining relationships and following one’s happiness in career choices. Failure can fuel future successes, and a full experience of human life is the ultimate goal.
From the philosophy of the ancients, to the self-help books that line bookstore shelves today, there have been many theories on how to find success in life. The plethora of ideas on this topic suggest that no one choice is right for everyone, and the matter is complicated by several definitions of success. What is success? Is it wealth, happiness, true love, surviving a ripe old age, achieving enlightenment, or a combination of those things? Furthermore, people with the best possible life plans and intentions can be disrupted by events beyond their control, and thus even those who try sometimes find no success in life, as they or others define it.
Given the complex nature of this question, it would be arrogant to offer more than simple guidelines on how to find success in life. These should only be seen as options. People can accept them or reject them, because anyone truly seeking success must first define what they seek, then choose a path.
An ancient Greek saying is: “Know thyself” and it is, perhaps, the foundation of every successful enterprise. It is difficult to determine what determines success without deciding what determines the self and how that affects definitions of success. People find many ways to recognize the self through meditation, therapy, or simply being able to honestly evaluate themselves through a variety of other methods. Most people are partially guided by upbringing and genetic makeup, and understanding how these two create influence can help people reach with their own minds to determine what would make them successful. “Know thyself” is an ongoing process, an ongoing commitment that all people make as they progress through life.
John Donne said, “No man is an island” and few people find success in life if they are completely isolated. Making friends or maintaining family relationships, if appropriate, makes sense. Whether that means getting married or having children is an individual decision, but most people will benefit from having others in their lives with whom they can share their pains and joys.
A famous quote from Joseph Campbell is, “Follow your happiness,” and this is an especially helpful thought when it comes to career determination. Most career counselors advise people who want to be successful in life to think about careers that most engage and excite them. While thinking about a career, some practical considerations are also recommended. At a minimum, people should know that they can live off the salaries that come from a potential career. The exact standard of living that needs to be raised is determined individually and influences career choices.
Finding success in life doesn’t mean always being happy or successful. This wrong impression often results in deep unhappiness for people. Successful people always fail or through no fault of their own, difficult things happen to them. What can best define a lifetime success is not just how people acted when things were easy, but how they acted and learned when things were hard. Failure can fuel future successes.
The goal of always being happy is quite elusive. Instead, people could, no matter how they construct their choices, settle on the goal of a full experience of human life that embraces the riches of its triumphs and failures. Ultimately, it can be difficult to gauge success until people reach the end of their lives, but if they’ve lived it with self-knowledge, connection to others, and passion for their work, there’s a better chance who say they have achieved success in life.
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