"Society's external rewards are no measure of true success. True success can be measured only in relation to the goals one sets for oneself."

“What does success mean to you?” This is a question that might seem very familiar to many interviewees. At a cursory glance, the definition of success seems like such a simple thing. The definition of success is subjective; each person might have a different definition of what success means to them. In view of all possible meanings of success, how is success measured? Are the measures of success defined by society's external rewards? Or is is something that is defined by individual goals that one sets for oneself? The topic issue claims the latter. I believe that the measurement of success in relation to both society's external rewards and one's own personal goal are both equally relevant. However, I also take the stand that society's external rewards is only secondary and incidental to the measurement of success in relation to one's personal goals.

In order to analyze the topic statement above, first let us look at the definition of society's external rewards. How is individual success rewarded by society? The most obvious answer to this question is public recognition and approval or fame. Humans are social creatures, and there is a need for them to seek approval and recognition from their peers. It is not necessarily negative thing as it can create healthy competition and drive. For example, an individual can aspire to be a world-class champion swimmer. A gold medal in the Olympics game can be a good validation of his or her ambitions. Even though societal rewards can serve as a good motivation, is it the ultimate measure of success? To say that society's external rewards is a true measure of success is to imply a person only does something with the end goal of public recognition. In the same vein as the example given above, what sparked the motivation for a person to start swimming competitively? It most likely started out as personal interest which grew into full blown competitive activity.

Personal goals and satisfaction are important factors in the measure of success. To measure success just by society's external rewards is erroneous for it entirely disregards the importance of intrinsically good qualities like diligence, hard work and fair play. If reaping societal rewards are the only motivation towards success, everyone would be too consumed with materialistic and superficial gains without considering the importance of personal satisfaction or nobler goals. Many noted figures in history did not pursue their success for glory and fame. For example, Nobel Peace Prize winner and prisoner of conscience Aung San Suu Kyi did not pursue her path of choice because she wanted fame and glory. She did it for personal reasons for she believed in liberating her people from the harsh military regime of Myanmar.

In sum, both societal rewards and personal goals are a good way to measure success. However, measurement of success in terms of societal rewards are only secondary to measurement based on one's personal goals. After all, a person is first and foremost influenced by their own personal reasons for wanting to pursue success in the first place. Secondly, if success is only measured by society's external rewards, noble values such as hard work, diligence and others would be ignored.