For those of you who want to go above and beyond, be great people and live great lives. For those who want to achieve amazing things for reasons other than money, why do you want to succeed at what you do?

11/21/2011 2:46:59 PM

for the same reason people care about their K/D ratio in COD.

personal satisfaction.

11/21/2011 3:06:09 PM

That response is a bit broad. This question is about why success is "personally satisfying".

11/21/2011 3:07:47 PM

To have the means to live the almost stress free lifestyle of my dreams...

Operating a strength and conditioning center somewhere beautiful like the south of France.

Working out and chillin' on the Mediterranean while sippin' wine and eating croissants with saucisson.

11/21/2011 3:09:58 PM

Don't care about being "successful" aside from the money (and to remain employed of course, but that is also because of monetary reasons).

11/21/2011 3:14:01 PM

To get laid.

11/21/2011 3:21:01 PM

Succeeding is not enough. I also want everyone else to fail.

11/21/2011 3:23:12 PM

11/21/2011 4:36:06 PM

My mother always told me, "Don't do what I did. Don't get married too young. Focus on your career. Set your sights high. Accomplish professional goals in your 20s and 30s. Take the time to find yourself before you get married."

I took her advice to heart because her depression was apparent. I know my mom lives vicariously through her kids. And I know that she's happy that my brother and I have found professional success.

My mom is the #1 reason I want to succeed. #2? I'm a Type A, highly-competitive perfectionist. I like to win simply for the sake of winning.

[Edited on November 21, 2011 at 5:33 PM. Reason : .]

11/21/2011 5:32:54 PM

I want to help people

11/21/2011 5:43:53 PM

Mine is rather pessimistic but I refuse to produce anything that I perceive as shit. Something genuinely bothers me when I create/send/etc something at work and I know it can be better. It's not because I'm at all concerned with others knowing the difference, I just have a hard time putting my name on things that I know aren't any good.

Secondly, if I think I'm smarter (or just better, ha) than someone else, I want to make sure that my work product comes out quicker/more thorough/more detailed/more accurate (depending on what the assignment calls for).

Sigh.

11/21/2011 5:53:23 PM

Feeling “successful” a state of mind rather than a place in life that you get to . As you achieve the goals you have set for yourself and as your surrounding environment changes for better or for worse, your benchmarks change (and they can change in both directions). Unless you are in peace internally and enjoy your life as you go, you will never feel truly successful no matter what you achieve. “Being great” is the measure of your achievements as judged by a plurality of other people. You can be a great person for a number of reasons, but the common denominator is that a certain number of people will accept you as extraordinary in some way. To be great, you don't have to feel successful, you just have to make enough people beleive that you are significantly better than them.

So to answer your question

Quote :

"For those who want to achieve amazing things for reasons other than money, why do you want to succeed at what you do"

the answer is

Quote :

"personal satisfaction"

AKA happiness

[Edited on November 22, 2011 at 9:52 AM. Reason : .]

11/22/2011 9:50:04 AM

Depends on your definition of "success". Mine at the moment is limited to passing or even getting Bs in nursing school (yes we get excited for Cs), and learning to provide good care for my patients.

In a more broader context, my definition of success is having a financially stable, rewarding career; giving back to the community in some sense, and maybe achieving some other things: owning a house, training up a young horse from the ground up.

11/22/2011 9:57:15 AM

So I can retire and not worry about shit anymore. 18 years folks, 18 more years.

11/22/2011 10:37:34 AM

When I was in high school I think it was so I didn't have to vacation in Myrtle Beach....

11/22/2011 12:06:53 PM

pretty pessimistic reason, too, but i am really fueled by people who have slighted me through the years. telling me my ideas are no good, i'm not good enough, etc.

of course, i am driven to succeed for my own satisfaction, but proving doubters wrong has always played a part in it

11/22/2011 12:10:22 PM

Because I'll eventually get to the point where being enlightened is no longer enough, and being willing is no longer acceptable, and my biggest fear in life (besides spiders) is looking back and regretting things that I could've, should've or would've done, but I was just too big of a pussy to follow through.

11/22/2011 12:13:48 PM

Endorphins.

I totally missed this as a lounge thread.

My successes tend to be motivated by how I can apply the abilities that I have. I realized that I'm actually very good at teaching. My ability to connect with others and interrelate concepts helps me teach well. I can get many of those "problem kids" to work for me. I can often help kids understand things when their teachers don't.

I think part of me wants to succeed if only to know how far I can take some of this skills/talents. Where do I hit my wall? At what point, does it become challenging?

[Edited on November 22, 2011 at 12:25 PM. Reason : ^]

11/22/2011 12:19:20 PM

I have thought about this subject a lot, and I discovered my profound realization - that there is no profound realization.

In fact, that's actually pretty incredible. In fact, I love nihilism:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilism

The incredible about nihilism is that it's not wrong. It's not particularly right either, really. But it's kryptonite to rationalism. Ideally, we would like to believe that rational though could, of all things, provide a firm foundation to convince you to not kill yourself right now. But it can't. By rule it can't.

Now, you can go arguing Darwinian philosophy, there are several routes to make observations about the consequences of killing yourself. But do we accept Darwinism as a mantra for life? Actually, that conflicts with several other components of rationalism, or at least what we would like rationalism to provide. Either way, we have no obligation to the natural course of competition, particularly when the question was why to compete in the first place!

There is no reason to not give up and keep living. Once you realize that, it makes it all the more crazy that we, in fact, do not give up. Well, that would be incorrect. Those of us left did not give up, although this is almost a matter of definition.

Quote :

"of course, i am driven to succeed for my own satisfaction, but proving doubters wrong has always played a part in it"

It feels empty after you prove them wrong doesn't it? Maybe not until that point. But once you get there it'll hit.

11/22/2011 12:22:45 PM

mrfrog, I'm guessing you aren't much of a people person, are you?

11/22/2011 12:28:23 PM

He is a people person though I don't imagine that he always was.

He's often got a lot going on upstairs; it makes him pretty interesting/inspiring to talk to sometimes.

[Edited on November 22, 2011 at 12:33 PM. Reason : ambiguity]

11/22/2011 12:32:12 PM

I think it's possible to be a rationalist and a nihilist. Just because we accept that there is no meaning to life does not mean that we do not or cannot act to fulfill our human desires. You could probably conclude that nihilism is a logical extension of rationalism.

[Edited on November 22, 2011 at 12:34 PM. Reason : ]

11/22/2011 12:33:50 PM

Girls

11/22/2011 12:35:36 PM

Quote :

"I have thought about this subject a lot, and I discovered my profound realization - that there is no profound realization."

That there is no greater meaning does not mean that life is meaningless. It means we are free. We can decide what meaning our lives have and make it happen. So what if it doesn't mean anything objectively or in some grand sense?

Me, I correlate success with more free time to not be doing those things I need to do to be successful. More time for my family and myself to do whatever we want to do at the time.

11/22/2011 1:00:33 PM

To conquer the galaxy!!

Also, to have fun. Which is why all drugs should be legal.

11/22/2011 1:32:34 PM

I have a few motivations. One is personal satisfaction of being good at what I am trying to do. Another is that I feel like I have a responsibility to make the most of what I've got. The majority of the world is worse off than I am, so it'd be a waste to not take every opportunity. Another motivation is that if I were to drop out of engineering, smoke weed all day, and not give a shit - I would end up much worse off in the long run. My standard of living would be much lower and my options would be more limited. My plan is to keep as many options open as possible so that I can see and experience as much of the world as possible and eventually hit on something meaningful to do.

It could be argued that all human progress is meaningless and will eventually be wiped out when we blow ourselves up or get killed by the sun or an asteroid or something. But we might as well give it a shot. Maybe we'll manage to get off earth and colonize the universe, who knows.

11/22/2011 4:17:35 PM

On a long enough timeline the Universe will be cold, dark, and lifeless. Every star will burn out and every dead star system will be immensely far from everywhere else.

Maybe we'll start a new Universe before that happens, though, who knows. I'm just saying, if you're going to be fatalistic about the Earth, don't forget that the Universe has the same fate coming.

11/22/2011 4:23:09 PM

true, but my "lets give it a shot" still stands

also it's crazy to think about - if we were here at some point in the distant future we wouldn't even know that all the stars are out there since the universe is expanding

[Edited on November 22, 2011 at 4:30 PM. Reason : ]

11/22/2011 4:24:58 PM

This is the first time I've thought it might actually be fun to hang out with sylvershadow.

I kind of feel like she might be awesome for doing salvia and getting existentialist with.

11/22/2011 6:48:40 PM

There are really only two options in life:

Succeed or fail.

I would rather succeed than fail. No one sets out in life to become a failure.

11/23/2011 7:33:03 AM

I like peering in to the looking glass every morning and thinking, "Goddamn, I am a badass motherfucker."

[Edited on November 23, 2011 at 6:32 PM. Reason : .]

11/23/2011 6:31:31 PM

I want to succeed to end that internal person struggle...some people call it inner peace or what have you.

But i STRONGLY believe that most of us argue with ourselves and argue against what we truly want to do. Because 'society doesn't run that way. There is no good reason why we feel the way we do or why we love the things we love, but i believe that when we've decided to do what we actually want to do in life, then we've succeeded....

i want to succeed to have that internal satisfaction that i'm not wasting my life - based on the fact that i'm not arguing with myself and what i want inside.

11/30/2011 12:56:12 PM

Success to me is being content. I couldn't honestly give a flying fuck about being president or CEO of a corporation (though I am driven). To me success is being content and to be content (i.e. not feeling like I am missing something in life) is why I strive for success.

Professionally, I'm driven just because it seems "right". I don't understand the concept of getting involved in something without striving to be the best at it or become as significant as you can. I don't necessarily think that drive is necessary for "success"; I just think it's the right thing to do no matter what you're involved in.

11/30/2011 1:58:16 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aowB5wNPvWQ

11/30/2011 2:42:21 PM

11/30/2011 2:58:27 PM

I don't give a shit about success, except as an avenue to make more money.

12/1/2011 10:24:30 AM

^same here

12/1/2011 10:32:58 AM

Quote :

"I don't give a shit about success, except as an avenue to make more money."

this...i'd be content to win the lottery and quit my job immediately after that check was deposited

granted, i'd be happy (different from content) to then do something i consider "important," but that could be anything from volunteering full time to work on remodeling the house to playing skyrim until my wife makes me stop

12/1/2011 10:35:20 AM

So I can buy stuff.

12/1/2011 11:21:06 AM

Quote :

"The incredible about nihilism is that it's not wrong. It's not particularly right either, really. But it's kryptonite to rationalism. Ideally, we would like to believe that rational though could, of all things, provide a firm foundation to convince you to not kill yourself right now. But it can't. By rule it can't. .. There is no reason to not give up and keep living. Once you realize that, it makes it all the more crazy that we, in fact, do not give up. Well, that would be incorrect. Those of us left did not give up, although this is almost a matter of definition."

I find it important to distinguish between the objective, rational universe (as we observe it) and the subjective, irrational self. There are no objective reasons because there is no objective meaning. Instead, meaning seems to be unique to humans/consciousness.

One can correctly say that time is objectively linear and infinite while our lifespan is not, so, in the "big picture," our subjective meaning and our reasons for living (and striving for "success") don't objectively matter. But time, as we likely experience it, is more of a line segment. The events of time after our death cannot affect us. The universe doesn't care about the meaning we create, but, in response, we can elect not to care that the universe doesn't care.

The laws of the universe can limit our potential, but cannot decide what matters. Because "what matters" is entirely up to us. The knowledge that we are the ultimate authority on what matters is very frightening to rational minds, since we aren't rational souls. The freedom and responsibility that comes with such authority can be overwhelming. In response, one can easily return to the cold familiarity of objectivity and become depressed. However, by doing this one is simply assigning meaning to objectivity. My advice (to myself and others) is to avoid doing that.

12/1/2011 11:22:58 AM

Less beatnik coffeshop talk, more being awesome at life.

12/2/2011 1:30:30 PM

Quote :

"I want to help people"

This may have been the only post on this page that wasn't so disgustingly self-centered it made me want to vomit. And iheartkisses post too I guess.

12/3/2011 9:53:48 AM

Quote :

"There are no objective reasons because there is no objective meaning. Instead, meaning seems to be unique to humans/consciousness. "

ATTACK OF THE WORDS

If you could look at the universe holistically, as an outsider, matter would barely be a tiny tiny tiny imbalance in a huge sea of vacuum fluctuations. It would be hard to resolve the existence of matter. If an extra-universal race was analyzing our universe, it might be a profound realization after volumes of research that matter exists. Once they make it that far, we are, as people, are 1 out of billions of people, out of billions (#?) of species, out of a big rocky planet, out of billions of planets, out of who-even-knows how many galaxies. In other words you have to squint really hard to see us.

And even if the aliens could identify the fact that cells exist on planet Earth, we're hardly human in the first place. The majority of the unique DNA we possess is in the bacteria, bugs, who use us as a host. Even our own cells have a mitochondria who's really a different cell who decided to hang out in our cells for the last few billion years. Our cells themselves are just a collection of organisms who sort of managed to work to a common objective, and they don't always do that either.

Our world is one based on emergent phenomena. Are these phenomenon some sort of "meaning"? They exist just as validly as we exist.

So why are morals any different? Memes are phenomena that evolve on top of the system of interconnected human brains, which itself evolved on to of all kinds of really nuts physics-y stuff. So can't I claim that morals, and some forms of meaning, exist just as validly as we do?

We might not know what these meaningful aspects of life are, but we sure as hell don't get to decide what they are on our whims IMO.

If you're "trying" to find the meaning of life, then maybe you're looking in the wrong place. Because you are not just you. You are are a part of something bigger, and that something bigger has emergent phenomena. You can be a neuron in a network that is a really big brain. The big brain might decide what the meaning is, and you're really just being ignorant of your place in it all. Maybe it's not all about you.

Specifically...

Morals do have some objectivity. I always liked utilitarianism as a theoretical framework. Like I was saying before, objectives are subjective because the choice to live is non-trivial. But as a collective community, we generally decide to make the choice to live.

tangent:

http://www.kongregate.com/games/Rete/villainous

This is flash game where you destroy the world. That's right. You're an evil villain. You set up a moon base, and you eventually build the highest tech in the game, which is a laser to destroy the world.

Then you're in a spaceship, flying away from the rubble that was Earth. He goes "they told me I was mad!" "they said I wouldn't do it" "hahaha" ... "haha"

This is all fantastically existentialist! Look look, let's be clear, the world all worked together to defeat the evil guy who was going to destroy the world (we'll overlook the fact they failed in this fiction). Is there not objectivity in that moral criteria? We will always disagree beyond that point, but in the decision to exist or not exist we believe ourselves to be objective, and we probably are. Furthermore, it's entirely thinkable that all other moral criteria theoretically follow from the original objective desire to exist, although we disagree pragmatically about the details.

These ideas leave a lot of stones unturned. If existence is the objective, existence of what? And how should we be preparing for the end of the universe? But it's probably wrong to believe that these can't be entertained with objectivity. Again though, maybe it's not possible for individuals to answer these questions.

12/3/2011 11:40:37 AM

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/the-maze-of-moral-relativism/

Short and sweet article refuting moral relativism.

http://www.peterkreeft.com/audio/05_relativism/relativism_transcription.htm

A more in-depth paper on the subject.

My go-to explanation:

Assumption 1: I am a rational, self-interested creature.
Assumption 2: We must act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction (i.e., the "Golden Rule")

1) As a rational, self-interested being, I have an inherent drive towards self-preservation
2) All things being equal, I do not wish to be killed against my will, as it would act against my sense of self-preservation
3) If I consent to murdering someone, I would in turn consent to others murdering me.
4) I cannot consent to someone murdering me, as it would violate my sense of self-preservation.

Therefore, all things being equal, I cannot murder.

5) Since we have established that I, as a rational, self-interested being cannot murder, the prohibition against murder becomes a moral absolute.
6) Since we have proved the existence of a moral absolute, moral relativism does not exist.

I use murder as my example not just because it's pretty simple to wrap you head around, but also because of the genetic aspect of it all. DNA is hard-wired for self-preservation; it's instinct.

On an unrelated note:

Quote :

"This may have been the only post on this page that wasn't so disgustingly self-centered it made me want to vomit"

Get off your high horse. You mistakenly assume that since people here have self-serving goals, that all their goals are self-serving. As if because people want wealth, notoriety, status, etc., that it is all they want, and they are incapable of also working towards the benefit of others.

[Edited on December 4, 2011 at 2:47 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on December 4, 2011 at 3:01 AM. Reason : .]

12/4/2011 2:44:16 AM