achievement
When we work so hard in life to achieve something, what defines that achievement? It could be a recognition by one's peers, an award/degree given by a commitee, an excellent salary, increase in rank/position, or doing something admirable that no one has done before. Movie actors, for example, could be judged on the money they make, how well they act, how many fans they have, etc. There are many possibilities. Goals of achievement give people plenty of inspiration, and it's the way we measure ourselves against our contemporaries.
But life is unfair and jealousy is a great evil. Award commitees can be swayed by trends, false information, bribery and alternate agendas. People may not wish to accept your achievement and deny you that pleasure. Salaries have more to do with market forces than the importance of your work. You may do everything right, but no one would notice it. The story about people not being appreciated until long after their death is as old as humankind itself. Gandhi never won the Noble Peace Prize. Barbara McClintock was ridiculed for decades before she finally got appreciated.
It has seemed to me that awards are inherently unfair, opinionated, and just a matter of luck: being at the right place at the right time, or having the qualities that happen to be in style that year. Truth is, no one really knows what makes a successful person, or whether these qualities are actually good for the long run. Happiness is subjective and one's potential worth to society has more to do with the combination of qualities and not the qualities themselves. Plus, so many people are competing just to get credit for what they do, rather than actually doing work.
Excessive awards, achievements, and other resume-bound titles are just a result of a grave human obession of people who need these superficial titles to feel better about themselves. It is propogated by the same types of people who are too lazy to challenge and push themselves.
Hard work should have it's own reward, and it does. It's not as satisfying as we were promised in Disney movies, but it's the best, longest-lasting satisfaction that we can get in life. It has only to do with how much we can compete with ourselves, and strive to do things we never thought we could do.
But life is unfair and jealousy is a great evil. Award commitees can be swayed by trends, false information, bribery and alternate agendas. People may not wish to accept your achievement and deny you that pleasure. Salaries have more to do with market forces than the importance of your work. You may do everything right, but no one would notice it. The story about people not being appreciated until long after their death is as old as humankind itself. Gandhi never won the Noble Peace Prize. Barbara McClintock was ridiculed for decades before she finally got appreciated.
It has seemed to me that awards are inherently unfair, opinionated, and just a matter of luck: being at the right place at the right time, or having the qualities that happen to be in style that year. Truth is, no one really knows what makes a successful person, or whether these qualities are actually good for the long run. Happiness is subjective and one's potential worth to society has more to do with the combination of qualities and not the qualities themselves. Plus, so many people are competing just to get credit for what they do, rather than actually doing work.
Excessive awards, achievements, and other resume-bound titles are just a result of a grave human obession of people who need these superficial titles to feel better about themselves. It is propogated by the same types of people who are too lazy to challenge and push themselves.
Hard work should have it's own reward, and it does. It's not as satisfying as we were promised in Disney movies, but it's the best, longest-lasting satisfaction that we can get in life. It has only to do with how much we can compete with ourselves, and strive to do things we never thought we could do.
posted by antidense at
12:42 AM
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