Achieving a goal constitutes success.
Originating from the Latin term exitus ( "exit" ), the concept of success refers to the effect or successful consequence of an action or undertaking . Its root becomes more or less evident depending on the context in which we use this word, since it often expresses "stand out", "come out above the competition" or "come out of the darkness of anonymity ".
For example: «New success for Lionel Messi: he is crowned the top scorer in the history of FC Barcelona» , «The singer performed with great success in Chile, where he gathered more than 200,000 spectators» , «The success of the project is in doubt due to economic problems .
The subjectivity of success
It must be taken into account that the notion of success is subjective and relative . Often associated with victory and achievement of great merit , success is part of our almost everyday lives and is generally not shared with many people. Regarding subjectivity , we can say that every time we set out to do something and achieve it, be it improving our working conditions, passing an exam , quitting smoking or simply saving money to treat ourselves, we are successful.
To understand the relative nature of the concept, let's take a case as an example: success in a car competition usually means finishing in first place. However, if a driver started from last place and came second, they can also consider their participation a success. The same with those who, with a much smaller budget than their competitors, finished in the top positions, although they did not succeed.
Success is usually associated with triumph and recognition.
His link with fame and money
However, society often establishes a relationship between success, material wealth and fame . This distorted and poor vision of reality affects many people, generating a simplified scheme of life that separates the successful from the unsuccessful. And it is precisely this last word that, when taken as a counterpart to the first, generates even more confusion.
Success should not be understood as something one-dimensional, but as the achievement of an objective , whether small and intimate or large and with great impact.
Fear of success
It should be noted that psychology speaks of the fear of success when someone who is close to achieving a personal goal develops an action, whether unconscious or conscious , to not prosper. The causes of this particularity are found in the possible mental linking of success with negative consequences, such as an increase in responsibility or a distance from loved ones. But the study of this phenomenon has gone beyond the obvious reasons.
It turns out that human beings do not always want the best for ourselves; On the contrary, our desires rarely move us towards satisfactory and beneficial results. The first culprit that comes to mind, as always, is the media with its twisted and misleading messages. But according to many psychologists, the fear of success lies in the fact that the individual has not stopped to consider whether they have chosen the path they really want, probably induced by family and social pressures. So, since he was young he has been directed towards that goal that, as it approaches, awakens sensations in our brain that make us uncomfortable, distress us, prevent us from continuing with the determination that we showed until then; And our mind knows the truth, and it looks for an escape to alert us to our error .