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What's the measure of individual human success? (pg. 7)
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| Whoever dies with the biggest pile of gold wins. |
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| couch-potato |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
Whoever dies with the most posts on TA wins. |
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| EddieZilker |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
Well, this is the thing. If you're content with achieving very limited things, is that a measure of a successful life? Does the effort of an activity give it worth, or are some activities a lot of effort for no real reward?
My post was a rather facetious tautology: a measure of success is counting up your successes. My real point is there is no measure of success, and why should we try and divine one? Half the posts in this thread read like self-congratulatory statements of how humble and selfless and righteous the poster can manage to be. If you achieve something worthwhile, you should get a tangible reward from it in your life, not an abstract sense of success. The achievements I'm interested in are the ones I haven't accomplished yet. |
This nails it. I had thoughts about posting what I thought was success in this thread and quickly realized 1) that it's easily subjective and 2) it's so self-congratulatory that once I post it, I become a bit of a failure in my own regard. |
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| Jarvmeister |
| In the USA success is measured by the size of your gut. |
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| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
If you achieve something worthwhile, you should get a tangible reward from it in your life, not an abstract sense of success. |
So a strong and supportive social network isn't a tangible reward? |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jarvmeister
In the USA success is measured by the size of your gut. |
I'll bet you thought that was pretty scathing, but only somebody who has never known hunger would think that's something earnestly contemptible. |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| quote: | Originally posted by jennypie
So a strong and supportive social network isn't a tangible reward? |
Of course it is, but it isn't a measure of anything. If you compare everyone in the world and decide that they're successful or unsuccessful based on their social network then you're a tard.
There are a great many areas of success in your life: social, professional, academic, creative, financial, etc. All you can say in this thread is which you care about, which you prioritise, and how content you are about it. |
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| tubularbills |
| quote: | Originally posted by couch-potato
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cor posts don't count:o |
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| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
Of course it is, but it isn't a measure of anything. If you compare everyone in the world and decide that they're successful or unsuccessful based on their social network then you're a tard.
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Wrong. Strong social networks are linked to better health, longer life, less stress, better financial resources, better access to resources...and all kinds of other .
Of course that isn't the only measure of success, but you're wrong if you think it's not a measure of anything, or that it isn't linked to anything else. |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| quote: | Originally posted by jennypie
Wrong. Strong social networks are linked to better health, longer life, less stress, better financial resources, better access to resources...and all kinds of other . |
So is being born in the West. Aren't we a successful bunch?
Some people are surrounded by s from the moment they are born, and they achieve great things in spite of the people around them. I personally have never had to work hard to maintain a great relationship with my family, but I would never be ing smug enough to dub myself "successful" at family life as a result.
Personally I feel it's small-minded to be satisfied with doing nothing in your life but having a good social network. I would not feel happy if that was all I had accomplished. Other people in other circumstances who have had to work bitterly hard to find people they trust would probably feel very different. How the can you compare anyone based on these things? How can you measure this bizarre, abstract concept called "success"? Why would you want to, except for that smug little feeling? That's the only vibe I'm getting from you, a righteous feel-good buzz about your homely priorities. |
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| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
Personally I feel it's small-minded to be satisfied with doing nothing in your life but having a good social network. I would not feel happy if that was all I had accomplished. Other people in other circumstances who have had to work bitterly hard to find people they trust would probably feel very different. How the can you compare anyone based on these things? How can you measure this bizarre, abstract concept called "success"? Why would you want to, except for that smug little feeling. That's the only vibe I'm getting from you, a righteous feel-good buzz about your homely priorities. |
I never said that I was satisfied with doing nothing in life, lol. I have accomplished a lot, and could easily go on about what I consider to be material successes - but at the end of the day those things are only a small contribution to my well-being. How is it righteous to measure one's success by their level of well-being? |
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