Does Our Success and Happiness Depend on Others

Does our success and happiness depend on others? Think about this question carefully. Some might say yes because if people aren't interested in buying our product then we fail. Some say no because you are only as successful as you choose to be.

Really there are two ways to look at this. You might say success is happiness and living a fulfilled life. Others say success depends on how well their business is going and by how much money they have in the bank.

Now let me ask the question again. Does our success depend on others? Do you still have to think about the question or have you made an observation already? I am going to talk about success with businesses verus success with contentment.

In Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, a person develops a sense of pride in their accomplishments in the fourth stage called: Industry Versus Inferiority. Social interaction is key and important in this time of development. Children will become more and more capable of performing increasingly complex tasks. As a result of this, they strive to master new skills. After completing one task they are able to move on. When they are encouraged by parents and teachers they develop a feeling of competence and belief in their skills. They feel acceptance by others and helps them build self esteem. Without self esteem it is more difficult for an individual to become successful. Those who receive little or no encouragement feel incapable and doubt their ability. Each individual needs to be able to deal with new social and academic demands. If they are doubtful of their abilities they cannot master any new task. Often they might trying for fear of failure. They might think it is easier to give up than to complete their objective.

Now some view success as having contentment in one's life. The same theory applies. When a child is negatively influenced by others it affects their self esteem. Some might rise above negative thoughts of others but some dwell on it for years. I am not a Psychiatrist but have observed people in different scenerios in life. Many dwell on past experiences and they are usually negative experiences. Some say if, "If I was treated better growin up, I...." The fact is that people care about what others think of them. One can choose to live life to the fullest and forget those past experiences or one can dwell on it and never succeed.