What is "success"? Is it the American dream, the house with a white picket fence, two kids and a dog? Or how about the winner of a Grammy? Maybe it is even being the CEO of a major international company. The amount of pressure in our society to be successful is scary. The attitude nowadays has a tendency to equate accomplishment with human value. This in return creates a perception that individuals are only as worthy as their achievements. I think that sentence alone can be a scary reality.
As most college students go through school, or even before when they are deciding what major, they feel a lot of pressure to be the best. You have to pick the best major, the best school, the best paying job, the best activities, the 'best' life. But what does all of that give you? It might give you a big house, a lot of money, and some pretty neat opportunities. Now don't get me wrong, those are all great things and I believe God has blessed people with such things in life. However, is that success? Is that really the end of what you hope for life? Is that what is going to make you truly happy and content for eternal life?
Now, I don't have all the answers to these questions. But what I do know is that it is important that you take time in your life to answer this question for yourself. What makes YOU successful in your own eyes? What fulfills your heart and soul in every way and how can you make that happen in your life? If you go through life chasing the idea of success through society's eyes, two things will happen. One, you will never get there. I find it pretty impossible to be everything society wants me to be. Two, you will find yourself very unhappy. Chasing after things that can't satisfy you will give you an empty life in the end.
I have done a lot of soul searching lately. Let me say this again: I do not have the answers. But for me, I have realized how lost and confused you can find yourself when continuously running after success. I went through high school and even started college with the concept of having a 'four-year plan.' I thought if I did exactly what I was supposed to do and was the best, then life would work out exactly how I planned it to. I would go to school, love every second of it, get a job right out of college, get married, buy a house, have kids, and always have enough to pay the bills. Well, I am only in my first year and I can tell you that it has worked out a little differently than that to say the least. But I can not explain how thankful I am for that. I quickly realized that God had a different plan for my life.
Striving for worldly things rather than Godly ones will only get you so far in life. Whether you have a strong spiritual life or not, I urge you to open up to this idea. Find out what is important in the end. Find out what running after society is going to get you. Define success for yourself, not by what someone else tells you.
Happy soul searching.
