Philosophy Essay about Success

A common aspect of life is the contemplation of whether we are performing well or not. It can arise numerous questions, such as if one is successful, if they are contributing to society, and so on. By standard dictionary definition, success is a noun, which states the accomplishment of or attainment of an aim or purpose. Success contains various definitions, even socially. As a result, success can hold varying meaning from person to person. Society sees different views of success based on personal beliefs, culture, etc. Someone could ask 30 people in a row their definition and view of success, but all their answers would most likely differ in some way. Success and the idea of success carries heavy uncertainty and hindrance. Even concerning myself, my view of success could potentially be viewed as cliché or out of the ordinary, depending on how you look at my perspective. Since success is a topic that is quite generalized and fluid, it is impossible to constrict it to one definitive meaning.

Success typically is a complex concept that some never truly grasp. Personally, it’s a topic that doesn’t necessarily have a big influence on me, as I have no view on it. Society has put such a glorified image on success that I tend to stray away from it. Today, especially in the United States culture, success is heavily sought after. The primary definition of success people in America adopt is the accumulation of fame and wealth. Common examples of successful people are executives, CEOs, politics, and internet personalities. Furthermore, the culture in the U.S. has made “fast fame” a part of everyday life. Success goes beyond just a mere definition, but society has heavily influenced the view and perspectives on it. Despite the generalized view of success as fame in addition to wealth, success comes with various conditions and situations that make it circumstantial.

In some cases, specific situations and conditions bring success into someone’s life. For example, the news shines a lot of light on people that are involved in accidents. These accidents range from car accidents, accidents involving an entire city, or an entire country. Currently, the situation with Ukraine and Russia shines light on both countries and their people. Of course, fame on Russia’s part isn’t necessarily beneficial, but it is still present. In addition to news coverage, success also presents itself amid discovery. 

Many geologists, scientists, and philosophers become famous for their works, findings, and discoveries. People such as Albert Einstein and Marcus Aurelius are well known by people from across the world! In addition to well-known figures in history, there are famous people today that acquired their fame through special circumstances. Take YouTubers as a prime example of fame in the 21st century. Along with people working hard to push their channels into the world, it’s YouTube’s algorithms that do a lot of the work. The algorithms decide what content is relevant, engaging, and other labels that allows them to push content that is most beneficial to viewers. Said YouTubers are those that go by names such as JackSepticEye, Markiplier, and especially Pewdiepie. Among these successful people that are big influences in society, there is common knowledge that the fame they hold can be dangerous and can contain drawbacks. 

A largely portrayed misconception about success is that there are no downsides to it, and it only brings someone benefits to their life. This is a common misconception that is, again, pushed by society and its view on success. People who have had success to any degree can and will tell you that there are sides to success that are plainly unpleasant. Several aspects of success bring about unwanted situations and emotions that one may not want to endure. When talking about success as fame, this negative aspect could mean dealing with unruly fans, people who do not respect your personal boundaries, others looking up to you in an inhumane or godlike way, and an insurmountable pressure from others that builds quite fast. When success is viewed as being able to contribute to society, many pressures follow alongside it. People with this view tend to think of themselves in a negative light, compare themselves to others, or they just overwork themselves. To reiterate a previous statement, success in some cases can be circumstantial. Every situation is different, and the aspects of the situation produce the drawbacks of success people have. Likewise, my view on success has benefits, drawbacks, and is diverted from typical views on success.

While my definition of success is seen with others frequently, it is different from the fame and fortune outlook. I’ve been determined to stray away from views on success that will most likely end up in me overworking myself or viewing success in an unidealistic manner. Most of my life I had been constricting my views on success to conform with those around me. Many people had told me the ways I should get success or how to be a successful person.  A lot of the common ways people said I should obtain success are through college, fame of course, and being extremely hardworking. Some of these may be true to my view of success, but I want to be the one to define what success means to me. I want to do well for myself, not others. Consequently, I have thought about success in a way that makes it seem attainable and adjustable. My main view of success is making a positive impact for the world and following my desires in life. I put no fine lines into my definition of success so that later in life, my view can be altered as see fit in the position I’m at during that time. One major attitude that pertains to this is making people’s day. It’s a small act, but it has an impact on others to some degree. Also, I think my life goals fit into my view on success nicely. I want to finish college, start my own business with good morals, and travel. I believe each of these desires is an aspect of success. While I do not necessarily have my life planned out “to a T”, I’ve thoroughly thought through how I can obtain my success and the steps I need to take to get there. 

I tend to have a few universal rules when looking at the goals I want to achieve in life. A major starting point when working towards any goal is thinking about how important the goal is. I like to start here because it gives me an idea of why I’m working towards this goal, how this goal will affect me, and what having this goal will feel like once it is complete. My next step is to assess why I want the goal. Differing reasons could be behind my desire for a goal. I mainly evaluate my desire for the sole fact that I want to make sure the goal is for myself primarily, not anyone else. Of course, a goal may involve a loved one, though. Those goals are exempt from this step in the process. We then move onto the grit of the goal process: defining the actual steps for the goal. Steps for a goal change depending on the circumstance and details of the goal. To demonstrate, I’ll take my goal of traveling. To travel, I would need to be with good financial standing to afford it. I would save up a bit before traveling anywhere, as I want to enjoy my time traveling. Another part of the process is planning out my trips to the places I want to visit. This includes where I’m staying, places to stop at, etc. I want to travel to other countries, so taking into consideration their cultural beliefs and rules is another step I would take. With any goal I have, I tend to be methodical about the planning process to make sure I consider every detail, issue, and benefit as much as possible. Overall, my view on success is straightforward and reasonable.

Success is not only a word with a definition, but an attribute of life most if not all people consider. We know the various forms of the standard definition, but there are social definitions of success as well. Social definitions can constrict the views one has on success. People also tend to overlook characteristics of success, such as its uncertainty and changing meaning. Negative sides to success are very much present, even though there is this façade to success that paints it only in a positive way. Examples of people with success show every detail of success, and this is necessary to one who is deciding what success means to them. My view of success is typical, but it means a lot to me. Personally, I believe success should not be a set-in-stone part of life where only one view is accepted. Success is circumstantial and forever changing, so we should view it in this way.