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Why is there pressure to be successful ?

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chris1989
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28 Mar 2022, 6:36 pm

I understand there are people who maybe are late bloomers and don't succeed until later but I seem to there is this pressure in society to only be successful early in life. I remember reading about the new film Tick, Tick... Boom! starring Andrew Garfield as the Jonathan Larson in which early in his career he felt pressure to successful before his 30th birthday. I can't understand the envy I feel when I see people my age or younger already successful as business men and women, musicians and so on and yet a part of me doesn't feel interested in wanting to do what they are doing.
I still haven't become a business man as I don't know what I'd set my business up in, I can't sing or play an instrument (I tried to play the bass but stopped after several lessons as I felt I couldn't keep up with the bass notes in some songs). I feel maybe I'd be an author or writer but right now I'm still in the process of putting ideas on paper and doing research and frustratingly I change ideas and then its back to the drawing board. I've been doing this for a few years now. When I'm not doing this in my own time, I work as a sales assistant at a retail book store. I don't know if I'd class myself as successful even though I was in work, and driving a car before 30.



kitesandtrainsandcats
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28 Mar 2022, 6:49 pm

Other that pressure to succeed being an apparently fundamental component of basic human nature and of human society, I don't know why.

Speculating here, modern pressure to succeed could now be a distortion of an original thing which has its ancient roots in the daily struggle to find food for you while not yourself becoming food for something else.

Playing in Google finds there is quite a bit written about pressure to succeed, such as,

Running On Empty: The Pressure For Constant Success
October 22, 2015 by Dyllon Charron
https://goodmenproject.com/ethics-value ... ss-dylchr/

Quote:
Every single day we are told to be the best we can be. Our friends push us, our family pushes us, society pushes us, all under the guise of this one belief: success breeds happiness. We are told that successful people are the happiest people. We are shown wealthy, smiling faces in the media, told stories of the success and fame and fortune of those individuals the world over, and made to feel like we too need to achieve this in order to be the happiest we can be. For our lives to be fulfilling, we need to try our very best, at everything we do, every day.

Now let me be the first to say this: holy smokes does that get tiring…


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Texasmoneyman300
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29 Mar 2022, 7:29 am

chris1989 wrote:
I understand there are people who maybe are late bloomers and don't succeed until later but I seem to there is this pressure in society to only be successful early in life. I remember reading about the new film Tick, Tick... Boom! starring Andrew Garfield as the Jonathan Larson in which early in his career he felt pressure to successful before his 30th birthday. I can't understand the envy I feel when I see people my age or younger already successful as business men and women, musicians and so on and yet a part of me doesn't feel interested in wanting to do what they are doing.
I still haven't become a business man as I don't know what I'd set my business up in, I can't sing or play an instrument (I tried to play the bass but stopped after several lessons as I felt I couldn't keep up with the bass notes in some songs). I feel maybe I'd be an author or writer but right now I'm still in the process of putting ideas on paper and doing research and frustratingly I change ideas and then its back to the drawing board. I've been doing this for a few years now. When I'm not doing this in my own time, I work as a sales assistant at a retail book store. I don't know if I'd class myself as successful even though I was in work, and driving a car before 30.

As a business owner you just need to think of a problem your business can solve no matter how small it is it can be mowing yards or designing websites or stuff like that I would suggest you read rich dad poor dad by Robert kiyosaki to get a basic understanding of business you could save your money and buy a preexisting business I would get familiar with the law and tax code and the legal structures in your country I think working at a book store has more promise financially than being a performing artist or writer most likely



Fireblossom
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29 Mar 2022, 9:23 am

Pressure to be successful or pressure to be successful at young age?

The later is likely simply because "youth" is the ideal time in most cultures, which is understandable since an average person is at their healthiest when young and have the time to make something of themselves.

As for being successful in general, well, who wouldn't want to be so? If you see others succeed, it's natural to want the same for yourself.



Nades
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29 Mar 2022, 9:33 am

Why is there pressure to be successful?

Because not being successful in life appears to be linked to long term dissatisfaction.



Fnord
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29 Mar 2022, 10:10 am

Nades wrote:
Why is there pressure to be successful?  Because not being successful in life appears to be linked to long term dissatisfaction.
As well as poverty and dependence upon the kindness of strangers.



chris1989
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29 Mar 2022, 6:43 pm

Fireblossom wrote:
Pressure to be successful or pressure to be successful at young age?

The later is likely simply because "youth" is the ideal time in most cultures, which is understandable since an average person is at their healthiest when young and have the time to make something of themselves.

As for being successful in general, well, who wouldn't want to be so? If you see others succeed, it's natural to want the same for yourself.


I am probably talking both those things.



chris1989
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29 Mar 2022, 6:45 pm

chris1989 wrote:
Fireblossom wrote:
Pressure to be successful or pressure to be successful at young age?

The later is likely simply because "youth" is the ideal time in most cultures, which is understandable since an average person is at their healthiest when young and have the time to make something of themselves.

As for being successful in general, well, who wouldn't want to be so? If you see others succeed, it's natural to want the same for yourself.


I am probably talking both those things. The pressure to be successful and the pressure to be successful at a young age.