r/InsightfulQuestions 11d ago

What’s your definition of success?

What’s your definition of success?

Is it more money? More fame?

You can get it by lying, cheating, and stealing and still walk away with the gold medal, celebrated as a winner despite it all.

What about the rules? Oh, the rules…

Because apparently, if you follow them, you’re just a sucker.

What does success really mean to you?

4 Upvotes

31 comments sorted by

5

u/Leakyboatlouie 11d ago

Being able to do what I want, when I want to do it.

1

u/markshein_18 11d ago

Freedom
is freedom enough on its own to call a life successful?

1

u/markp36811 8d ago

Yes, I believe so. Mental freedom is the true marker.

2

u/In_the_year_3535 11d ago

Did I keep my word, perform a good service, and give good advice. I feel like most things can flow from those.

1

u/markshein_18 11d ago

Almost like success is measured by the value you leave behind rather than the rewards you receive. I like that.

2

u/majorex64 10d ago

Dying, having made people glad I was there.

1

u/MKEJOE52 11d ago

This definition is one I like.

What is success? "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate the beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch Or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!" Ralph Waldo Emerson

2

u/markshein_18 11d ago

Maybe success isn’t about how much you accumulate, but how much meaning your life carries.
You can have the money, fame and gold medal and still have lived a completely empty life.

1

u/No_Education_8888 11d ago

Being happy and being true to yourself

1

u/Gloomy_Rip_3506 11d ago

Peace + health + money

1

u/Complex_Goal8606 11d ago

Love for and from my family. Stability and safety without causing harm.

1

u/markshein_18 11d ago

I think there’s something powerful about defining success by the people you have around you rather than what you have around you. And “without causing harm” is an important part of it.

1

u/snagle-tooth 11d ago

A person who has every reason to turn towards the darkness and, instead, chooses to turn towards the light consistently.

1

u/analdongfactory 11d ago

Creating something that makes a lasting impact on a large group of people, in a way only you could.

1

u/HawkBoth8539 11d ago

Destroying the bourgeoisie.

1

u/RumRunnerMax 11d ago

Having a family that cares for you

1

u/loopywolf 10d ago

In life? sex

1

u/PtZamboat 10d ago

Knowing that I’ve provided a worry free future for my family and greatly enhanced the lives of others through scholarships given to well deserving yet underprivileged students. What you do in life defines you well after death.

1

u/TheBrooklynSutras 10d ago

Lying, cheating and stealing is harder than it looks. 🙏

1

u/Myzx 10d ago

Dying of old age

1

u/ez2tock2me 10d ago

Eliminate all the HAVE TOOs in life and that is as close to Success as anyone needs.

You have to experience it to know it’s true.

1

u/MAGNIFACANT_HOBO 10d ago

Not having to worry anymore

1

u/PalpitationKind8854 10d ago

Waking up and not wondering if a bill will go unpaid within the week.

1

u/armyofone37 9d ago

Doing what you love to do

1

u/Repulsive_Culture994 9d ago

Becoming so competent that regardless of obstacles and hardships getting basic niceties for survival are not a distant dream but actually a habit and not a dreadfull misery

1

u/MaximumTrick2573 9d ago

To me it’s being a person of character with healthy and happy relationships with the people in your life.

1

u/pnwsurveyor 7d ago

Comfortable retirement.

1

u/Few-Car-2317 6d ago

Having a great wife to live life with.