When I imagine success, I see an Olympic podium.  Athletes proudly posing with their medals. I see a CEO in a luxurious house on a hill with their family.  Yet, I can easily see myself standing before a vast college campus, awaiting “bigger” opportunities to present themselves. All this is to say, what is success, and what does it look like for any individual? Throughout our high school careers, we frequently hear from teachers and parents alike that we must plan for our futures, “be successful” all the while finding ourselves and be “happy”. I always wonder what they literally and truly expect of us, whether that is monetary “success” or simply finding a state of happiness. There are many choices, yet we still wonder which is right for us. Last semester in my Life Management class, there were many discussions regarding whether to pursue a career based on pure passion, or where one particularly excels, or a profession that would ensure beyond the minimum of financial stability. All this to say, the meaning of “success” has since plagued my mind.

Money has often been a sticky subject, especially in the current economic and political climate. Many people believe that in order to be successful in life, they have to earn a lot of money. However, that begs the question: Can money actually buy happiness? I believe this is true—to a certain extent. Hopefully, all of us are aware that we live in a capitalist society. One of the key features of a successful capitalist economy is, you guessed it, the constant exchange of money. Money is necessary to fulfill our basic needs of food, water, shelter, clothing, etc., simply because of how the world works. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, those basic needs have to be fulfilled in order to become “self-actualized”. In my opinion, such happiness can lead to the so-called state of “self-actualization”. However, the link between money and success is not necessarily as straightforward as one may think. Many people view the rich and powerful as quite successful, although they have destroyed millions of people’s rights, most evidently through Donald Trump’s presidency. They view these figures as “successful”, even though they have created cars that are only acceptable as representing a lot more than a midlife crisis, as seen through the contributions of Elon Musk with the Cybertruck. They are “successful” because they are rich. A college degree costs hundreds of thousands of dollars in creation and leaves the receiver of said degree possibly (and more often than not) with large amounts of debt. Still, many believe you should have a college education to be successful. Success, from the monetary standpoint, is a constant cycle of having money and losing it to be successful. Therefore, having money doesn’t necessarily make you successful. So, what does?  

Success is defined as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose” by the Oxford Languages Dictionary. Yet, does success necessarily mean that something is accomplished? Some believe that success in life can be found through happiness. As I discussed earlier, money can indeed “buy” happiness, but that isn’t necessarily the only thing that can lead to it. Love and connection are important things that lead to overall happiness as well. A successful life can mean having a satisfying one as well. However, no one, and certainly not I, can give out “cut and dry” guidelines on how to lead a fulfilling life. But as you read the thoughts of a random senior with 17 years of life experience, I hope that at least some of them will resonate with you and make you feel less alone in this turbulent time we currently live in. However, as I’ve been researching, the same thing keeps reappearing: Comparison is the enemy of satisfaction. Comparison can lead to anxiety and depression and have a destructive effect on one’s self-esteem. Endlessly scrolling on TikTok and Instagram will inevitably result in finding new things to criticize about ourselves, which, in turn, detrimentally affects our mental health. 

Furthermore, this phenomenon will only create intense dissatisfaction and self hate as much as we may not like to admit. Instead, one can strive to discover new things to appreciate about others and oneself and, above all, practice kindness. Those simple actions can go a long way to developing one’s definition of a successful and fulfilling life.. As I like to say, it is much easier to choose to be kind than mean. People and feelings come and go, but what is most important is how you respond to those feelings and people.  Despite all of this information, the question still stands: Should we be looking for satisfaction to be successful? 

Above all else, it is more important to be satisfied with your life than to crave popularity or money, despite what the media may show. I’ve concluded that success is defined by whatever we wish to achieve in life, whether it be satisfaction, popularity, or wealth. As Shakespeare wrote hundreds of years ago: “To thine own self be true.”