Are you happy or successful? Or both?

@guttoo (17)
Canada
April 20, 2012 8:43am CST
Do you think you are happy? Or successful? Or both? Do you think your success is your measurement of happiness? Or is it inversely proportionate to happiness? I do not think success is directly related to happiness, and vice-versa. But success can bring happiness. What do you think?
4 responses
@rmuxagirl (7548)
• United States
25 Apr 12
I don't think I have been successful yet because I have yet to acheive my goals I have set for myself in various aspects of my life. I am happy to an extent, I mean I would be happier if I achieved some goals and didn't struggle with some things in life. Sometimes I think success can being happiness because you get stress trying so hard to meet those goals.
@guttoo (17)
• Canada
25 Apr 12
Yes, you are right. Sometimes it takes so much effort to be successful that you lose your family time and your own peace of mind to pursue that. So we give up trying to achieve our level of success at some point. However, I feel, that having a considerable success along with a happy home is what amounts to real success. There are so many successful individuals in the world, who may be idols for others, but they do not have a warm home to go back to at night. They do not have warm food on the table or a people waiting for them to return home. I pity them. I feel they have lost a lot to acquire success. They have missed out on a lot of happiness. So I don't consider them successful. My dad often used to say: After a while, the real success of a man lay in how happy his wife and children are and how successful his children are. For that, one has to know where to draw the line and retire home.
• Jordan
7 May 12
Happiness is an emotion brought on by events that happen in your life. Success is based on whatever you define as the target. Happiness can't bring success but success can bring happiness. But just as others mentioned in this discussion, happiness is not dependent on success. Jokes can make you laugh, which leads you to feeling happy. Happiness is not a goal to reach and you can't be successful at happiness. And even if you are successful, that doesn't automatically mean that you will be happy. Living life with a human mind is far more complicated than one would like to think about, although I know of people who love and find happiness in complicating matters. To them success is brought about when complication are created and that makes them happy.
• United States
29 Apr 12
Lately, as a volunteer for the American Italian Heritage Museum, I have been there 3 days a week after being asked. I helped take down a 2-month exhibit & move them to another building on the property on one day, then helped set up another exhibit & set up for a meeting on the next day, then attended the meeting the next morning & worked the rest of the museum until it closed, with only 3 hours sleep for the last 2 days. I feel a sense of accomplishment but felt so lousy mentally from lack of enough sleep. So, I've been unhappy despite my success. Yet, today, I finally caught up on all my sleep & felt happy for the 1st time since that 1st day I was helping out. Yet, I was resting most of the day so I felt happy yet not successful. I didn't feel productive. So,I decided to help set up a sign for the garage sale @ the Museum next week, since I said I might be able to help out. It wasn't a total committment. I felt the need to be useful since I felt happy. I went there & there were 3 signs up. So, I went inside the Museum to see who was there & ask about who put the sign up. I learned it wasn't the person who said he would do. Anyway, I winded up talking to the 3 volunteers there for 2 hours & helped the volunteer in charge of the garage sale bring some of the stuff left in the alcove of the Museum over to the storage area to be priced by his wife later. I also stayed till the closing hour with my friend there & brought in the open sign & put the money boxes away. So, today was my most successful day since Tues. since I felt a sense of accomplishment & I was also happy too that I felt good! So, today I'm happy 'and' successful!
@UIUI356 (42)
• China
20 Apr 12
I am happy but not so success.i think there is nothing connection between happy and success. Everyone have the different criterion in success,maybe you are success for you have a good family but he is success for he have a rich family. SO in my mind, one will happy but not success but the others will sucess but not happy or both. it is hard to say.