What Does it Mean to be Successful?

Success means different things to different people. However, there seems to be a general perception that to be considered successful you need to have a well-established career and to be rich. Plus, it helps to live in a nice, big house and to have an active social life and a family to support you. Of course, this kind of success is out of reach for many people, but there are plenty who continue to chase the dream, because they care too much what others think about them. It seems that there is just too much pressure on people to achieve a certain kind of success and, unfortunately, this starts from a young age.

Consequently, young children are being expected to spend more time at school; to take more work home with them; to participate in after-school activities, because it looks good on their C.V.; they have to get good grades and know where they're heading in life. There is already enough pressure on adults to succeed, let alone children. Why can't children just enjoy being young and free from the worries that come with adulthood? Surely, there is more to life than good grades, especially when not all children are particularly academic.

Not all children are going to get the highest grades and go on to university so they can pursue a career, and not everyone wants to, anyway. At school, children are obviously led to believe that you have to get good grades to get a decent career, because this may help to motivate quite a lot of children to work harder on their studies. However, it's not always as simple as that. After all, what is a 'decent' career, anyway? You don't have to be a high-flying lawyer or surgeon to get job satisfaction; you may decide to work as a care assistant or to look after children. You may even get a job which you don't particularly enjoy, but that pays the bills.

Ultimately, it depends what your priorities are. You may want to build a career that will win you the respect of your peers and leave some people envious of your position; or you may be more concerned about finding a job that fits in around your life. You may be more interested in travelling or socialising with friends than the direction of your career. You may not be wealthy or have a career, as such, but if you're happy with your life, then what difference does it make whether anyone else considers you to be successful? It is your life and you are free to do what you want, within reason, which means it is pointless trying to compare your 'success', or lack of, with other people's.