The meaning of success.

Growing up in a competitive world, it’s difficult to decide when to call success a success. Often we hear success comes mostly from hard work, and probably ten percent comes from luck.

Parents put their hard earned funds in financing children education. In some instances, study loans and savings are committed in education with purpose to better self-equipped for workforce. So much hopes and dreams.

Here comes the real world.

Education is found to be fundamental. Politics are not factored in from the very beginning. Hard work does not necessarily pay off. There comes street smart individuals who bypass and constantly take shortcuts to succeed. Then, we ask ourselves a million times “why” and “how“?

So much effort, so little return.

Because of dedication, we expect more. Truth is, everyone expects more even those without dedication.

Deserved or luck? 

Success depends on how we make do with what we have. Education is more of a mean to an end. Emotional intelligence is another. No point flaunting if there is no idea on how to make good use of them.

Success depends on how we define it. Accept that there is always someone better than us. Thankfully politics make us think. Others’ success are key to learnings, not definition to our success.

Success is the layers of commitment we gradually pile. They include the pain suffered from failures, the courage in facing mistakes, and the determination to keep trying.

None of them comes without hard work. Hoping for luck without doing anything is as good as dreaming.

Whether we are more deserving compared to others is irrelevant. Simply because success does not lie in the little perks or praises others have on us. It lies on how we envision ourselves in every life milestone.

Does hard work pays off as swiftly as luck? Not really. Surely, we know we’ll soon get there. After all, it’s not the end that gives us the ultimate satisfaction; it’s the string of unique experiences that make up the meaning of success. 

Photo by Samuel Zeller