A different measure of success
The clearest evidence of humankind’s superiority over the rest of the animal kingdom lies in the fact that we are the only species on Earth that engages in pursuits beyond the necessities of survival. All other animals spend every single day of their entire lives exclusively searching for food, securing shelter, ensuring protection from predators, and engaging in procreation. In contrast, humans engage in a wide variety of passions beyond the bare necessities of life.
The wide range of pursuits that human beings get passionately interested in is astounding—astronomy, dance, architecture, biology, visual arts, botany, dental medicine, paleontology, to cite a few examples from the kilometric list of human interests. Our complex brain, which evolved and developed to be far more advanced than those of other animals, has enabled us to engage in pursuits beyond basic survival concerns. But what explains how everyone becomes intensely fascinated by one particular pursuit out of the many different fields of interest? Genes, parental influence, education, and life experience are obvious contributory factors. But why does the child of lawyers aspire to become an architect, for instance? Why does a successful accountant abandon her profession and put up a coffee shop in fulfillment of a lifelong dream? Why does the child of impoverished laborers possess a yearning for literature?
There’s not a single conclusive explanation as to why people possess an innate interest in particular fields to the point of developing them into lifelong passions if given the choice. These passions are elements of life that give every individual purpose, dreams, direction, and fulfillment. A society that thrives with an overwhelming number of its people pursuing their real dreams becomes vibrant with life.
How many of our people are pursuing their passions as their life vocations? How many of our countrymen are using their God-given talents in their trade, craft, or profession? How many of our people wake up happy and excited every day because they are living their dreams?
It’s starkly lamentable that the celebrated metric of success in our society is financial success.
It’s heartbreaking that so many of our children are forced to abandon their passions and are instead told to pursue professions that will put more zeroes in their bank accounts. So many of our children are forced to become nurses, police/military personnel, seafarers, and engineers because they’re told that they will have better chances of ensuring economic survival for their families if they pursue these professions. Our country is a wasteland of squandered talents.
It’s true that with financial security, people can afford to pursue their passions. But this means that passions become mere weekend hobbies instead of enduring careers. For most of their lives, people toil in jobs that drain instead of infusing life into their lives.
Our society’s reliance on economics as a measurement of success notwithstanding, we are constantly reminded that monetary success does not translate into contentment, fulfillment, and happiness. Despite material possessions and financial security enjoyed by people in affluent countries, they have their equal share, if not a higher share, of incidents of depression and more frequent occurrences of suicide.
In our country’s case, we may have recently attained upper-middle-income country status according to the World Bank, but what meaning and relevance does that have for the overwhelming majority of our people who toil every day in jobs and vocations that are totally detached from their passions?
I commune with friends and interact with clients whose lives range from the most destitute to the incredibly wealthy. The happiest and most contented family I’ve encountered consists of parents who are both dedicated and enthusiastic public school teachers with two kids who are attending a regional state university. They have not had the privilege of traveling abroad, but they talk of wonderful vacation memories in Baguio City and a summer beach trip not far from their province. They go out for lunch as a family on most weekends at fast food eateries. Their gatherings are filled with stories and laughter. The kids are voracious book readers pursuing courses dictated by their respective passions.
Experts should come up with a different gauge of a country’s success or failure by measuring the proportion of its people who are living and sustaining their lives through the pursuit of their talents and passions. A country may be teeming with people wallowing in wealth, but they lead nonhuman lives when they are detached from their passions. They’re no different from animals going through life entirely concerned with the bare necessities of survival.
——————
Comments to fleamarketofideas@gmail.com
