EDUCATION: THE MISCONCEPTION IN OUR PERCEPTION OF " SUCCESS By: Famakinde Micheal

On many occasions, I have heard people talk about success, it makes me wonder why have been so misguided. Our definition of success in this generation seems to have been altered by the standards set by the society we find ourselves. Unfortunately, our minds have been reconfigured by the society and everything surrounding us. The kind of society that makes us believe that building houses, buying cars, using luxurious assets etc. are the major signals to show a person is successful. Worse is even the fact that it is being emphasized that achieving all these things early, very early in life, is the height of success.

I do not contest the fact that it is good to have all these good things, who does not want good things after all, but I capitally and categorically beg to differ and oppose the spurious claim that those are the yardstick for measuring a person's level of success. Those are simply called "being wealthy". Isn't it sad that _that_ deleterious mindset has eaten so deep into us that everybody now wants to achieve these things by all means? In fact, It is sadder that very young men and women, even teens, are the ones pursuing wealth at all cost even if it means having to take someone else's life or deceptively taking another person's property. The kind of happenings that are all over the place recently makes it incontrovertible that everybody is hellbent to be rich overnight. All this "rat race" and thirst for wealth and fame by young people who are supposed to be busy building and preparing their lives spiritually, mentally and intellectually is borne out of the set standards of the society that until a person achieves this or that, until one attains the level where one's mates are at all cost as early as possible, one has not succeeded. Then, how can "success" be all about riches, when anybody can cut corners and become rich?
After all these wealth and fame acquired too early by cutting corners, what is the next adventure for the rest of our lives? 
Why the haste and greed to live 70years of your life before you actually clock 30?

In my opinion, "success" is supposed to mean peace, contentment, and fulfilment. There is a point in life when all we will want is peace, a time when wealth will no longer mean everything to us. Will karma allow us to get that peace when the time comes? Aren't we destroying the peace with our present greed? Contentment is satisfaction; satisfaction with what we have while hoping and sedulously working towards a brighter tomorrow. (Get this right) When the time comes, nobody can stop it and everybody does not have the same time. The peace we eventually enjoy from our patience, perseverance and persistence will, in turn, make us a fulfilled person in the end.

Understand and utilize the simplicity of life at a time when everybody is using the complexity of life as an excuse for their greed.

Famakinde O. Michael Esq.
#TheExcogitatoris
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