Cogito ergo scribo

It's funny how we like to pass judgement on the success of other people.

If a pretty lady is at the top of the ladder, she must have slept with the boss.

If a young boy makes a fortune our of a niche, he's just lucky to be doing the right thing at the right time.

If a young lady is driving a luxurious car, she either has a rich daddy or a sugar daddy.

If a young man becomes a millionaire at a young age, he was either born with a silver spoon in his mouth or a lucky horseshoe up his ass.

We can't accept that a person is successful simply because of his talent or his hard work. Because admitting it is akin to acknowledging our own inadequacies; it's admitting that we aren't as capable, nor are we as hardworking; it's recognizing that success may never come to us because of our own failings.

We must attribute the success to some uncontrollable factors, such as luck and circumstances. We are afraid to know that after having done all the things within our power, we still fail to reach the height of others, which makes us feel like lesser beings.

Hence, it must be something more. We want to believe that there's something more that contributes to a person's success, something that's beyond our mortal control. Only by believing this can we cling on to the hope that perhaps one day, good fortune may finally befall us and we can become successful too.

Of course, being successful is relative. We all have different definition of what constitutes success. In our society, it's measured by wealth and social status. But then, everything actually boils down to happiness. We wanna become rich and famous because we believe that it will make us happy. So it means that success should in fact be measured by how happy we are in life.

Then again, happiness is subjective. People who know contentment find happiness more easily than those who desire more. So does it mean that people who are easily content are more successful than those who aren't?

I think now i know what's stopping me from being successful.

Labels: opinion, rant