Leah Dennehy's Definition of Success

Of course, CEOs of big companies are going to be seen as successful, but what about people with jobs that aren’t stereotypically “successful jobs?” I believe that you can have a smaller-paying job and still be successful in life. You don’t need to be a strong, wealthy athlete, or a beautiful, rich model. You can be successful as a small-town farmer or teacher. If you do your job well, then there’s nothing stopping you from being called “successful.” In this way, success is completely relative, as it changes depending on a person’s individual life.

In her article, “A New Definition of Success,” Christina Organ writes, “We have become just a tiny bit obsessed with attaining success.” I would disagree with this entirely. I’ve never really thought about what success meant to me before this assignment, and so I certainly don’t live my life constantly trying to become more successful. Of course, I try to do well in school and in extracurriculars, but I feel as if there’s a difference between wanting to do well and overwhelming oneself with the constant pursuit of success -- as Organ seems to be saying people do. Overall, I do what I do because I enjoy what I do.

But maybe that happiness is part of what defines success.

I’m not saying that I’m this great, successful person just because I’m happy sometimes, but being content with your life, job, hobbies, and family should definitely be considered when defining success.

Let’s just say there was this guy with a job -- we’ll call him Job McJobguy. McJobguy made the decision to work extra hours, coming in early and staying late everyday, and even working weekends. Over time, he starts to work harder and longer, eventually becoming the vice-president of the company. Now, McJobguy may be seen as successful in his career, but because he’s never around, Mrs. McJobguy decided to file for a divorce. Now, McJobguy is unloved by his wife and children, stuck in a lawsuit, and living in his mother’s apartment. If you haven’t guessed by now, he’s overall not very happy with his life. Would you really consider him to be successful, even though he has a good, well-paying job?

One can’t possibly be successful if they aren’t able to find joy in their day-to-day life. No one is going to be perfectly happy all the time, but being overall content with one’s job, health, family, and friends is vital in order to be successful.

Now happiness is an important factor in my definition of success, but I wouldn’t say that it’s just about being happy with your life, either. If overall you’re happy with your existence but stink at what you do, I wouldn’t say that you’re a very successful person. I like to think of it like playing Mario Kart -- the original Wii version of course. Of course you’re going to be happy while playing, but if you’re racing with your friends and you don’t come in first, you were not successful. It doesn’t matter if you “had fun” playing, you lost and that’s that.

For me, success is being overall happy with your life and doing your job well. Different people live different lives and are going to have different standards for success, so it doesn’t matter how other people view your success. Now that’s just my definition, but how does one actually measure “success?” To me, I feel as if you can never really be 100% successful, but rather you can be successful at things. For instance, you may be successful at your job but not successful at having a family, as shown in our Job McJobguy example. There’s always going to be something you’re unhappy with, and something you’re not great at, and that’s okay. A successful person is someone who is successful in most of the major things in life. Going back to the Mario Kart analogy, you don’t have to be the most precise when hitting other karts with green shells, or the most strategic when placing bananas. You don’t even have to win all of the races in the game. You only have to have fun playing, and of course, win more games than your friends.