Success vs Happiness
Success and happiness are two different concepts that have puzzled thinkers and sociologists for centuries. It’s challenging to pinpoint the difference between the two, as they are closely related and often intertwined. In some cases, people who believed they would be happy upon achieving success ended up feeling empty after reaching their goals. On the other hand, some people are happy despite not being conventionally successful.
What is Success?
Success can be defined as the achievement of a specific goal. For example, a student who works hard and passes an exam with excellent results has achieved success. It is natural for an individual to feel happy when they succeed in a particular task, but this happiness is often temporary and more of a sense of achievement and accomplishment. Success can bring about material happiness and can be transformed into monetary gain that makes an individual happy, but this happiness may only be temporary.
What is Happiness?
Happiness, in contrast, is a feeling of contentment. One can be happy by simply appreciating the beauty of nature, playing with children, or engaging in hobbies and creative activities. Real happiness has no connection with success, even though many people equate the two and set goals for themselves, hoping that achieving these goals will bring them happiness. True happiness comes from within and does not depend on success.
Key Takeaways
- Happiness can be defined as a feeling of contentment, while success is the achievement of a task or goal.
- Success can be temporary and dependent, whereas happiness is not.
- Real happiness comes from within and is not reliant on achieving success in life.