The Measure of Success?

In most studies conducted, and papers written, most people agreed that success cannot be measured by the monetary reward.  Happiness, they say is the true gauge of the success of an individual when it comes to his career.  I have to argue that and say that these no longer apply in real life, in fairytales - maybe it still does.  I totally agree that one can never buy happiness, and it is indeed more important than material things.  But how can we really achieve happiness in times when we have to stress about paying our mortgages, looking after our bills, the cost of the kids’ education, and our daily expenses, yet our household income does not suffice?

It is really sad to admit that because of the way our lifestyle have changed, some of our values have to change as well.  If you think of a married person with all the commitments mentioned above, happily doing his dream job, and earning less than what he needs, this person will end up unhappy because of the stress brought about by his inability to support the needs of his family and to pay the bills.  Compare this to another person, doing something that he does not really like doing (but is legal and decent!) and being compensated more than what he needs to meet his obligation.  At the end of the day you will see the latter one happier than the first because after the boring job that he endures doing he can come home - leaving work related things behind and spend some quality time with his family without worrying about the unpaid bills that are waiting for him.  At some point in these two individuals’ lives, they are both unhappy about something, but the other one can sleep well, knowing that he doesn’t have any overdue bills.

I am not saying that we have to be greedy and value money more than anything else.  What I’m trying to emphasize is the sad reality that these days, the old saying that “You work to live, and you don’t live to work” is no longer true.  To be honest, I myself, am guilty of this.  I have been telling some mates that I really do not like IT and that I only do it because I have to - for the monetary reward.  I’m trying my very best to commit to my responsibilities at work and continue to hope that someday soon I would be able to quit my job for something that I’m really passionate about, be happy, and not think of the mortgage that we have to repay.

‘d blogress