Posted by Kyoto on February 17, 19103 at 07:08:41:
It is not a new debate what the criterion of true success is¡ª¡ªsociety¡¯s external rewards or the goals set by individual.What is now most intriguing and intricate is the increasingly degree controvercy. In fact,since several hundred years ago,some scholars have articulated their concerns about the issues:what is true success and what should true success be measured.My point is that ,only by conjoining the society¡¯s external awards and the achievement of individual goals , true success can be gauged objectively.
To discuss this issue, we should , first of all , illuminate/elucidate the definition of true success. Voltaire ,the French thinker who is well-known all over the world,once said (and I paraphrase),¡±To human beings,as social animals,true success means not only the accepting of the whole society but also the satisfaction of the individual.¡± Thus,true success can be identified as an achievement which is accepted by the society and at the same time, satisfying the individual .
Secondly,it is necessary to examine both perspectives of the society¡¯s external rewards and the achievement of the individual goal of gauging success.
On one hand,fulfilling the goal does not directly spell true success.Whether an individual who achived the goal set by himself is indeed successful reckon on what the goal is .Assumed an individual who gained his (or her) aim but what he did is a bane of the public,could he be difined to gain true success?The answer is absolutely negative.A convincing and compelling example is that in an interview with a smuggler in China,who imported illegally merchandise valued over 8 million dollars,he said,¡±Since I was 10 ,I have told myself that I will earn 1 million dollars.And I attained it.¡±He achieved his goal,undoubtedly, however,no true success did he reach.
On the other hand,the criterion of true success does not simply count on the society¡¯s external rewards of an individual. There are many people who get considerable rewards from the society ,but no true success did they reach either.A recent study of the film stars in England demonstrates that while they win the great rewards ,60% of them per se admitted that they are suffering spiritual void.Without the satisfaction of themselves, obviously ,no conclusion that they accompolished true success can be made.So the society¡¯s external rewards themselves do not spell for true success.
Put it simply, the society¡¯s external rewards and the individual goal are both necessary measures of true success.To scale true success,until both of them are discretly considered, no conclusion of true success can be arrived.