Could success be measured?

Yes, the magic word, the most desired outcome by the majority of earth’s seven billion inhabitants, we almost everyday hear about success stories of different people and the paths they followed, how Oprah became one of the most influential women in the world, how MJ became one the most dominant players in NBA history and so many other examples, so we end up desiring and craving for atleast something close to what they achieved, and I won’t deny it, this could be considered a healthy ambition and aspiration if it’s approached the right way, by defining our own future goals without trying to copy other’s lives, because every individual’s achievements vary from other’s, they can be better as much as they can be lesser.

This leads me always to think of one universal question, How we measure success?

I think success is the most diverse word in definition and meaning, it doesn’t have the same explanation worldwide, because each individual tends to interpret it and describe it according to his perspective, and I think it’s fair to think of it like this because success depends on different variables and conditions.

A poor young boy in Brazil sees success as the opportunity to become a professional football player because he is mainly influenced by the success stories of Brazilan kids who grew up to become famous athletes.

Another boy somewhere else in Brazil dreams of becoming a professional volleyball player because he used to watch games since his childhood with all his family who was very attached to this sport.

We can take another example of a third boy also in Brazil, who dreams of becoming a famous DJ, a boy who was born in a medium or high income family, so he somehow grew up differently from the other two kids, his parents were considered generous on him, they bought him everything he wanted, so he used to play with musical instruments all the time and didn’t hang out alot to have the chance to play in the streets, this boy grew fond of music and art by time, he attended some festivals and musicians’ concerts, and the fact that Brazil is a well known musical country helped him, so the idea of becoming a DJ built up slowly and gradually inside his mind, and became the interpretation of success from his perception.

A young boy in some country in Europe was fascinated by science and physics since his childhood, he looked up to some of the most famous scientists around the world, like Einstein, Newton and others, and all he wanted was to become a physicist and dive deeper in this field, he didn’t care much for money or wealth, so success for him meant becoming a well known scientist who contributed to the community and the world.

Another example is a poor guy in some remote African country, who lives in an isolated village far from any close major city, so they don’t possess the lowest kind of technological equipment or even a stable source of electricity, they even struggle to get drinking water, so if we take the example of this young man, he doesn’t have any idea on what’s happening out there in the world, he doesn’t have any clue on what internet is or what is a tv, so success for him is the ability to leave this miserable village toward the city, or perhaps even leaving the country, that’s his highest ambitions and goals, due to his limitless knowledge, but perhaps if he manages to exit his country, he’ll discover how advanced is the outer world, and grow certain bigger dreams and aspirations inside him, but for the moment being, success for him is attached to going out of his home town as soon as possible.

The examples on this topic are unlimited and diverse, and all of them define and explain the same idea, success is a relative and subjective concept, not everyone has the same dreams or goals, and that’s the beauty of it.

We define our success depending on our measurements and circumstances, yet so many people include external factors when trying to build and decide their future, and that could have some negative effects in the long term.

Some compare themselves with others, they desire what other successful individuals have, without taking a moment to consider what they truly want from their lives, and that’s a dangerous behavior that could ruin them gradually if they continue on it.

Others let external factors influence the process of defining their personal goals and objectives, it could be parents, friends, or some relatives, either way, we should never let others affect or even help to decide how our success should look like.

The bottom line is, success is a relative term, and could never be measured because it depends on the individual’s perspective, that’s why we should never compare ourselves with others, everyone’s situation is unique and special, and every single human is like the protagonist of his own story, and every story has its unique ending.