NOBODY would say that waking up makes one dream of failure instead of success.
Success is what an aspiring person first thinks about. Thinking about failure makes people feel worried. So, people don’t like to think about failing in life. People see success as a rule for survival, which allows a satisfying life. However, failure often leads to shame and ridicule. Success is subjective. Achieving peace of mind equates to success for some. Other people measure success by power, wealth and fame.
The meaning of success differs across societies. Success is often equated with huge career achievements that impact society. Elsewhere, success is measured by spiritual contentment. But I would like to highlight the modern trends in society related to success. Success is crucial for a respectable life in today’s society. Success is essential for gaining social validation. Wisdom is often associated with the wealthy. Society views power-holders as resourceful individuals. Those who gain fame are blindly followed.
Modern societies treat these three groups as successful. Their peers pay attention to them. They are considered role models, even by their families. Individuals with this level of success feel a sense of elevation and power. Today’s success relies on wealth, power and fame. A fulfilling life, today, results from these so-called success pillars. But this kind of success has its downsides. Wealthy people earn respect, though often for their money. Should they lose that wealth, they’ll likely lose social respect. Once they lose their wealth, respect will be hard to come by. The reality is quite harsh. Nonetheless, this is for the most part true. Thus, most of the affluent live in a delusion of simulated respect.
Successful people in modern society include those who amass significant power. Their power draws others, who then seek connections to gain advantages. The centre of societies, thus, are powerful people. When power is lost, people face reality. They feel deserted, even by their own. They are left as if they never existed here. Yet again, those who foolishly attain power are happy and surrounded by fake admirers, believing they are the world’s main attraction.
Addiction to fame has become a foundation of success nowadays. Becoming famous results in a huge following. Followers act blindly, believing everything the famous say. We see this in television commercials. Many companies choose famous people as brand ambassadors. But when they get old or aren’t famous, contracts disappear and their fans leave them. Thus, fleeting fame is also a false idea of success. All modern triumphs eventually vanish. It’s the dark side of the success that modern societies value.
On the other hand, people feel shame after a failure. But what if today’s failure is more unique than success? Shame, misery and rejection are the outcomes of failure. This isn’t a measure of a person’s value, but of society and relationships. People who aren’t genuine leave during tough times. Yet, authentic people stick around regardless of our status. Failure, in the eyes of society, often leads to a loss of self-esteem and respect. They are mocked by their peers and their colleagues desert them. But, this is failure’s silver lining. It’s tough to hear, but humans need this to truly understand their relationships.
Failure reveals our vulnerabilities, too. We feel broken and directionless. However, this rouses the inner strength that battles these emotions, allowing us to recover. People get stronger and wiser through failure. If failure didn’t exist, people would be totally deluded about relationships and status. Failure can illuminate the path. It shows our weaknesses, lack of wisdom and our social strengths. Life’s failures have an upside. Young people nowadays dream of success for social approval. A lot of young people don’t see that success can be a trap of falseness and that failure holds the reality they’ll face. True success comes from gaining social value without being rich, powerful, or famous. It demands the development of character. Honesty, integrity and love for humanity are the keys to people’s real success. Genuine success means having connections that remain, even when you’re empty-handed. Someone genuinely successful never leans on others. Social recognition is not something they seek. They don’t require approval from anyone. Successful people are those who have a pure heart. They help people without wanting anything back. Fame and power are not what truly successful people crave. They reach a level of wisdom where wealth, power or fame offer little enjoyment.
To truly succeed is to not hate anyone. Genuine success means recognizing the evils of comparison, envy and exploitation. It insists on finding happiness even when joy is scarce. Genuine success involves lasting social bonds, even when life brings failure. We need to change our social structure to redefine success, removing wealth, power and fame as sole symbols. To achieve this, we must create social security, provide equal opportunities, improve education and ensure security for all.
It’s hard to accomplish this. The true meaning of success is hard to grasp. Our youth won’t find peace due to today’s concept of success, which focuses on wealth, power and fame. A thriving society depends on success that is genuine, beneficial for everyone, and fosters peace. Failure is real when success builds untrue social worth. Failure teaches valuable lessons. Deceptive success can lead to the trap of delusions. Every story has a flip side. Life’s successes and failures also have their counterpart. Success can be dim and failure can be bright.
—The writer is Commoner from 44th Common Educationist — Founder of WHI Institute.based in Sargodha.
