The Value of Success and Achievement  

The Value of Success and Achievement  

Michelle Matthias

Has the societal push for success and achievement become a driving source of anxiety?

Achievement and the quest to be successful have become the top priority and in some cases an obsession for many in our fiercely competitive society. Daily, the bar seems to be raised and many are left with the question, “Is enough ever enough?”

For too many, life has become a “pressure cooker”. The drive to achieve and succeed has taken priority over our happiness, our rest, our relationships, our values, our virtues… Children, adolescents, college students, employees, entrepreneurs, managers, CEOs…no one is off-limits to the pressure to excel regardless of, against all odds. Sadly, our identity has become a reflection of our achievement even if this achievement is punctuated with depression and mental anguish.  “Die Trying” is the theme and/or the title of books and songs that encourage us to push hard for success or die trying. But is it worth dying for? 

Please understand, I do believe that success should be honored, but to categorize or equate “smarts” with core values of humanity is superficial. The value of kindness, virtue, respect, empathy should not be rebranded to represent less than a straight-A or being promoted. Success comes in many different forms and can be measured in different ways.

The issue is that our society has lopsidedly put so much emphasis on one form of success that we fail to acknowledge the legitimacy of other forms. For the most part, money has become the definition of success and achievement. After all, this is the quantitative metric by which we measure a company’s success. As per Wells Lucas Santos, “We are obsessed with the revenues, the profits, and the valuations, and more often than not, we solely gauge success on monetary achievements.”

Whether you are an athlete, musician, author, engineer, you name it, your recognition is linked to your quantitative achievements. Success and achievement are now measured by fame and wealth. This is the sort of success that we now value and chase in this present day. For example, a dedicated teacher who has instilled wisdom may not be regarded as successful as her student that went on to achieve and became wealthy. Have we then replaced the value of wisdom with wealth?

According to the CDC, more than 40 percent of American adults are struggling with mental health issues. The pandemic made it no easier. Our obsession with success and achievement is running us ragged. We are physically and mentally exhausted as we spread ourselves super thin. Our eyes have become fixated on success to the point where, unintentionally, we don’t care about core values like kindness, respect, and empathy. We have become narcissistic and competitive because those are the characters that are considered successful even if it means burn-out and crash.

Is the pressure to achieve and be successful amplifying your anxiety?

Are we being poisoned to kill ourselves over fame and fortune?

Being ambitious and having the drive and desire to succeed and achieve is good. But do not trade the value of success and achievement for the values of humanity – kindness, respect, virtue, empathy, gratitude. Having and holding on to these core values of humanity will help to keep you grounded and balanced, allowing you to see that success without peace of mind is meaningless and miserable. Ultimately, regardless of how you measure your success, it is meaningless without Christ.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, but lose his soul?” – Mark 8:36

“Being kind and gentle refine our other good qualities; we shine more brilliantly and effortlessly .” – Michelle Matthias