Money Not Only Measure of Success
Dear [Mentat],
True enough. When you take the world view, monetary richness isn’t by any means the only measure of success. However, I’ve used it frequently in my representations of success [in the posts today], because financial gain (or loss) is rather easy to quantify, and because the acquisition of financial wealth seems to be how most people in the west define their own quests for success. That is, they consider themselves successful if they’ve managed to generate a big enough nest egg to enable them to live the American dream. The money measurement of success provides a useful, although possibly inaccurate means of contrasting successful people with the ["losers"].
But yes, success has many other dimensions, not so easily measured externally to the person who is succeeding. In fact, I’d suggest that the most complete definition of success would be the (primarily internal) achievement of a completely harmonious and tranquil mental state; a state of optimal inner peace, a place where the individual wants for nothing. Now practically speaking, a person may never wholly achieve the status of _wanting for nothing_. But if he’s reasonably resourceful, then he’ll be able to secure what he does desire in pretty short order, or, he’ll [possibly] be able to eliminate that desire [via totally resigning himself to the impossibility of fulfilling it] if it cannot be satisfied without incurring excessive cost. In this definition, a person must possess the powers to both satiate his desires through gratification, and to stop chasing desires which will likely lead him to dissatisfaction and little reward. Making lots of money provides one path to this ultimate success. But as you point out, there are many paths, some of which involve no additional money made.
Tags: Measures Of Success
April 15th, 2010 at 4:52 am
[...] Money Not Only Measure of Success [...]
April 8th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
[...] Money Not Only Measure of Success [...]