This coming Wednesday, we will be discussing what constitutes a successful life at the Ideas Cafe.
In one of the earlier cafes, we had discussed what is "The Good Life" and there are various ways of looking at the hedonistic, virtuous, self sacrificing and other forms of the good life.
This time around, I thought we will discuss what is the meaning of success.
Success is about reaching a goal. So a goal needs to be defined before defining success towards that goal.
In the land of the possible, a lot of school children in the US are told that they can be the president some day if they wanted to. It is certainly a possible goal, but perhaps a goal that will likely meet with failure for a big proportion of people who aim for it.
Or maybe it is a material goal. To have a target income level or asset, to be within the top 10 or 100 within a certain country or community.
Maybe it is about social justice or environmental protection. To reduce poverty levels to a set target, to reduce green house gases to a certain amount by a certain time.
Recognition by one's peers is another worthwhile goal. To be published in an esteemed journal, to win a certain prize judged by one's compatriots or a world renowned panel.
Great relationships with one's family, friends, and social circles is not something to be sacrificed while pursuing all these other goals.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of worthwhile goals to judge one's success.
Perhaps it is a combination of several or all of these goals in a balanced life where the individual goals themselves are less spectacular but the overall achievement deserves a judgement of success.
Noticed that each of these goals, if reached, opens the door to another worthwhile goal further down. Once elected to the head of state, the president thinks of leaving a worthwhile legacy. Achieving a certain wealth only expose one to others wealthier still. Even Bill Gates and Warren Buffet move on to how to make the best use of their wealth after they are at the top of the heap.
There just is no perfection or end when it comes to goal setting. Success is short lived before it becomes pedestrian.
What about going the other way.
How often have people lament how they didn't appreciate what they have until it is taken away from them? News of disasters elsewhere remind us of how lucky we are where we are. Close calls or accidents averted accentuates the good things in life we have been taking for granted till then.
So, maybe lowering our goals is a better method of getting to a successful life?
After all, golfers use a handicap system to allow less able golfers to enjoy the game. Why not life?
Please feel free to use the comments feature of the blog to post your thoughts before or after the meeting.
To me, a successful life is to live a life of fill with happiness (whatever that means to the individual).
ReplyDeleteThis new format sounds like a very good idea. It would encourage more discussion and dialogue.
ReplyDeleteGood family relationships (between spouses and children) and friends are the primary goals that many people set and by which they measure their success in life. On their death bed, people often wish that they had spent more time with their family rather than at the office.
Hummm..... some people are only happy when they are successful......
ReplyDeleteThey say that at their death bed, nobody ever regret not spending more time at the office. Perhaps they may regret not taking that chance for the big break. We all wish for the big rewards without paying the price.