Success, Succession and Spirituality

By S. J

Success. The world at large seems to hold onto a particular, extremely narrow definition of the word, where everyone almost unanimously associates it with attaining wealth, prosperity or fame, leaving us with a never-ending rat race of trying to be the best at everything. This leads to a culture of comparison and unhealthy competition, which will eventually begin to take a toll on our mental health and our sense of self-worth.

Others may be ahead or behind you, be it academically, popularity-wise or even in relationships, but you’ll feel this constant pressure to live up to the standards of those who love you, especially your parents. And when you don’t measure up to them, when you try your best and still feel like a failure since you seemed to fail every time you tried anyway, that is going to drastically affect your self-worth. Why? Because we’re conditioned to believe that our worth lies in our achievements, academic or otherwise, so that we’ll be accepted by society, adding to the pressure of feeling like we owe it to those who have sacrificed so much for us.