Does Success Change as You Get Older?: Success as Defined by People in Different Life Stages
Success to Me
When you plan your life right now, what is the end goal? What does it even mean to be “successful”? Why do we focus on being successful in life? Are you ever content with your own success? Questions like these allow people to learn more about themselves, and more about what they want to accomplish and be successful in. I wanted to know the answers to all of this, so I set out to talk to people and see what they thought.
As we grow, we learn. As we learn, we see the world differently. For me personally, how I have grown and learned what success is has changed in my life and shaped what I believe now as a 19 year old college student. When I was younger, around 9 or 10 years old, and first learning about how you pay for everything and what the value of money actually is, there was a crash in the economy (2007–2008). During this time, my dad switched jobs and a lot of luxuries such as eating out, and getting toys without it being a holiday or my own money disappeared. This taught me the cause and effect of earning what you have, and how being successful can be defined by not how much you have but how hard you work to get that.
In my house, the idea of “you can be anything you want to be and everything will be great” was never an idea that was entertained for anything longer than the childhood desire to grow up and be a princess or a butterfly. I have always been taught the need to think about your lifestyle and practically how I would be able to support myself or my family on any income I choose. When it came time for college, that was a factor I had to keep in mind. I decided to go to school for child therapy, but I know it will come with a cost. I will always have to watch what I am spending and I will have to go to school for longer.
I have decided as I have grown that to me, success depends on both earning what you need, and being happy. I have had a job since my freshman year of high school the second I turned 15 and I have not been without one since. Working and being able to spend my money to buy what I want and need and to go out with my friends has allowed me to feel successful and productive.
What is the Importance of Success?
Feeling successful can change the course of a person’s life. Hard work is such an important aspect of motivation and accomplishment that it can shape their entire outlook on success. I was curious if other people, especially of different age groups, had the same outlook on success as I do and if they felt they were successful.
To answer my question of success and how different age demographics perceive their own success, I talked to students from multiple age groups, ranging from Middle School all the way up to Retirement age. I was surprised by commonalities in goals throughout the ages, while there were still such stark differences in how different ages communicated those same goals.
The people I asked come from Northwest Indiana. There may be differences in perceptions of success across different areas, but overall the idea of change in ages will prevail.
Success as defined by a COLLEGE STUDENT
Q. What do you think success means? (Definition)
A. Achieving your goals or being good at an activity you participate in.
Q. How does somebody become successful?
A. Grinding, practicing, and striving for excellence so they can attain perfection in anything they do.
Q. Do you think you’re successful?
A. I think I am on the right track to be successful.
Q. If yes, how did you become successful? If no, why not? How could you be?
A. There is excellence I am trying to achieve but I am not there yet.
Success as defined by a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
Q. What do you think success means? (Definition)
A. Success means being able to do something without problem and/ or learning from your mistakes to become better.
Q. How does somebody become successful?
A. You don’t become successful over night. You have to work hard. For example, I’m a cross country runner. I started out running about 20 minute 5k’s and got that down to 17:30 by working hard over several years. It takes time. I was able to achieve a level of personal success. Personal success is very important, and you should never compare your success to others.
Q. Do you think you’re successful?
A. Yes and no. I like where I am in life but I know there’s always room for improvement and there’s always going to be a reason to keep exploring new ideas and conclusions. Don’t fall into a feeling of “everything is solid” because you may be disappointed when things turn out not to be.
Q. If yes, how did you become successful? If no, why not? How could you be?
A. I need to maintain where I am, and I need to keep working. It is hard to find a balance at time but I am continuing to grow and learn.
Success as Defined by a RETIRED TEACHER
Q. What do you think success means? (Definition)
A. When I think of the definition of “success” I don’t look at what just I, personally, have achieved, but also what my children and former students have achieved. I am a firm believer in the adage, :We stand on the shoulders of those who went before us.”
Q. How does somebody become successful?
A. Again, depending on one’s own definition of “success” what I think is “success” someone else may think it isn’t. If one’s definition is centered on the number of tangible items i.e., property, such as houses, businesses, cars, etc., and the amount of money in the bank, stocks and bonds, and other investments, then being a good human being and treating others with kindness and respect as well as being a “giver” and a “doer” of oneself and not just donating money, may not seem being successful.
Q. Do you think you’re successful?
A. I believe I am extremely successful. I can look around me and see a balance of tangible and intangible. I have the “comfort” items, but I also have raised children (including many students) who are kind, respectful, and all around “good human beings.”
Q. If yes, how did you become successful? If no, why not? How could you be?
A. Very simple… I am successful because I have worked hard, kept the faith, and believe in God.
So what does this mean?
I think this means that students underestimate their successes. Students feel as though because they have not year reached their end goal, they cannot call themselves successful. As a community, I think the first step of changing the general feeling of falling short can be solved by thinking from the future. If we could all look at our lives in the way an older generation does (such as the retired teacher) we can see the successes in the little things.
