The Stress of Success

Ali V Brown
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

Recently I was scrolling through my Instagram and stopped to read a Humans of New York post, as I usually read all of their posts. This one in particular was one I felt myself relating to as I continued to read it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXgedB9gynj/?taken-by=humansofny

I think about the fact that millennials continue to feel the pressure to succeed earlier and earlier in their lives. I don’t think that pressure is a bad thing but it can turn ugly when it’s to a certain extent.

Personally, I’m always looking for something different to fall in love with — a new hobby, a new attachment, a new passion. Some people find it earlier in their lives and then there are those who fail to find their calling and continue working unhappily.

There’s a problem with the pressure in finding a passion that creates a name for yourself — it takes away from enjoying life and living life. That seems a little cliché to say but it’s true.

In my opinion, social media plays a big role in creating this stress. It causes people to relate to the unrelatable. It causes people to strive to become someone they’re not which in the end is a lose-lose situation.

Personally, this Instagram post is exactly why I wanted to start writing. I’ve always wanted to do it and honestly I was scared to. I realized that people take so long in finding their “calling” because they’re simply too scared to put the effort into it and are too scared at what others will say. I didn’t want to spend another second feeling that way because it’s simply stupid.

The moral of this is to just go for it. The pressure to succeed and to find a passion is frightening but I think it pushes a lot of people to stop being afraid, like it did for me.

Brandon Stanton, thank you for this and for posting the most relatable.

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