It's Made Me Think
I had a new reader drop by yesterday. Manoj of "As we go on..."
He brought up an interesting subject. "How do we define success?". Manoj feels that the easiest way for him to measure success is by how wealthy the man is. (I have to assume here the word 'man' can be read as man or woman.) There's a fair amount of debate going on in the comments section of his post...by all means, jump in if you feel the need.
I guess, in society, and through the eyes of others (same thing?), we are judged by the type of car we drive...the kind of house we live in...the clothes we wear etc. Personally, I feel I've had various successes in my life...none of them to do with money at all. I have no money, but that doesn't mean I'm without success does it?
I have two fabulous teenage boys...ok, I'm their mother, I can say that, for all you know, I could be looking at them through rose tinted glasses. To counteract that thought, I need to tell you, that I've always, always, made it my business to try looking at my children through the eyes of my neighbours. Let's face it, they've put me through an emotional wringer at times...but, all in all, they're well-rounded children with sound foundations and I'm happy to take some of the credit for them being so. So I'm feeling successful at being a parent.
I ended my marriage after 15 years, became independent, and apart from a few bumps and falls in the road, I'm now standing on my own two feet....noone else is holding me up here....noone is paying my bills and feeding me. We sometimes live from paycheck to paycheck in this house...but I still have a paycheck coming in...so the fact that I'm working part-time AND still managing to feed and clothe us is another success.
I've won singing competitions, talent quests, the occasional job promotion during my working career...I've unclogged drains, fixed door knobs, solved small and large problems for myself and the kids. I have grown to learn that people are extremely complex characters, we are all different, have different views....more importantly I have grown to accept that what they want or need, can be quite different to what I want or need. Getting to this stage of my life, and realising that, I feel I've become a success as a friend to others.
These may all be small in comparison to earning lots of money, living in a mansion and driving a BMW....but they are successes all the same. And honestly? are they small? is it a small triumph to be called a friend to others? is it a small triumph to raise respectful, healthy children? is it a small triumph to be happy in your work and good at what you do?
We all have success in our lives, regardless of our bank balance...the successes we achieve can be relatively small compared to others...but the satisfaction of achieving something that makes us feel so damn good about the person we are and the person we strive to become, has to be one of the greatest successes of all in my book.
And now to lighten things up a little...
Look what I did! Look what I did! ------>>>
Ok, so it's not a HUGE thing, but hey, when it comes to me and technology, or more to the point HTML? what I've achieved today is a glorious thing. GLORIOUS I say!! (and another success notch on my belt lol)
Email me if you'd like me to send you a postcard from New Zealand....the window of opportunity is still open! Step right up, step right up!
He brought up an interesting subject. "How do we define success?". Manoj feels that the easiest way for him to measure success is by how wealthy the man is. (I have to assume here the word 'man' can be read as man or woman.) There's a fair amount of debate going on in the comments section of his post...by all means, jump in if you feel the need.
I guess, in society, and through the eyes of others (same thing?), we are judged by the type of car we drive...the kind of house we live in...the clothes we wear etc. Personally, I feel I've had various successes in my life...none of them to do with money at all. I have no money, but that doesn't mean I'm without success does it?
I have two fabulous teenage boys...ok, I'm their mother, I can say that, for all you know, I could be looking at them through rose tinted glasses. To counteract that thought, I need to tell you, that I've always, always, made it my business to try looking at my children through the eyes of my neighbours. Let's face it, they've put me through an emotional wringer at times...but, all in all, they're well-rounded children with sound foundations and I'm happy to take some of the credit for them being so. So I'm feeling successful at being a parent.
I ended my marriage after 15 years, became independent, and apart from a few bumps and falls in the road, I'm now standing on my own two feet....noone else is holding me up here....noone is paying my bills and feeding me. We sometimes live from paycheck to paycheck in this house...but I still have a paycheck coming in...so the fact that I'm working part-time AND still managing to feed and clothe us is another success.
I've won singing competitions, talent quests, the occasional job promotion during my working career...I've unclogged drains, fixed door knobs, solved small and large problems for myself and the kids. I have grown to learn that people are extremely complex characters, we are all different, have different views....more importantly I have grown to accept that what they want or need, can be quite different to what I want or need. Getting to this stage of my life, and realising that, I feel I've become a success as a friend to others.
These may all be small in comparison to earning lots of money, living in a mansion and driving a BMW....but they are successes all the same. And honestly? are they small? is it a small triumph to be called a friend to others? is it a small triumph to raise respectful, healthy children? is it a small triumph to be happy in your work and good at what you do?
We all have success in our lives, regardless of our bank balance...the successes we achieve can be relatively small compared to others...but the satisfaction of achieving something that makes us feel so damn good about the person we are and the person we strive to become, has to be one of the greatest successes of all in my book.
And now to lighten things up a little...
Look what I did! Look what I did! ------>>>
Ok, so it's not a HUGE thing, but hey, when it comes to me and technology, or more to the point HTML? what I've achieved today is a glorious thing. GLORIOUS I say!! (and another success notch on my belt lol)
Email me if you'd like me to send you a postcard from New Zealand....the window of opportunity is still open! Step right up, step right up!
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