Leaving lasting impressions is what really counts

 

File pic, for illustration purpose only.

LETTERS: I don't agree with how we measure success. Recently, a friend told me she feels like a failure for not being promoted as fast as she should be and for not performing as well as she thought she should in her work.

I find it unfair that this kind, generous and sweet soul has to be measured against what society deems as the definition of success.

She could have done so well in other more creative or people-oriented fields, but because it has been ingrained in us since young that creative fields are for "non-serious" people, she and millions of other people like her out there are stuck in jobs that don't engage their passion.

I think we should shift from defining success as something tangible (how much we make, what house we stay in, what kind of car we drive) to something more intangible, like the value we bring to the people around us.

Of course, it's not wrong to have tangible wealth and fancy job titles, but if we don't share it with the people around us, or if we are mean to the people around us, do we really add value in this world?

On the other hand, we might just live in a one-storey house with our small family, making just enough every month to sustain ourselves.

But if we are happy and good at what we do, have good relationships with the people around us, and are generous with whatever wealth and time we have, we are surely adding so much value in this world.

Nevertheless, it all starts with ourselves first. We have to want to add value. We have to forego the need to think about and prove ourselves (according to others' expectations).

Let's do away with such a thinking or mindset. Instead, think about how we can help the people around us.

At the end of the day, when we die, it's not what we have that people talk about. It's how we made them feel that leaves the biggest impression on people.

AISYAH MARYAM

Kuala Lumpur

-NST

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The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the MMKtT.