Judge Success on Traits

3 decades ago parents were constantly pushing their children to top their classes. Good grades were after all the only way their kids would be able to eventually get a good job and be a success in the family. Parents only wanted the best for their children but students felt a huge burden being put on their shoulders.

This situation was made worse by society’s perception of what success was that is to say good grades and five years slogging away in med school. Students felt pressured especially those who were not academically inclined. If they did not do well in school, they were deemed failures for the rest of their lives.In the present day however, we see that society has begun to understand that a successful person is not just book smart but is also someone who is equipped with leadership qualities, critical thinking abilities as well as being able to manage time well to name a few.As a result of that, the new image of success is a kid who not only tops the class, but also runs a minimum of 5 different clubs,plays tennis, volunteers three times a week at a shelter home and also plays 4 different instruments.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m all for a wholesome education where students are taught to be all rounders. But sometimes I feel as if we’ve gone a little bit overboard.My sister has dance lessons three times a week,music lessons, language lessons, arithmetic lessons, religious lessons and badminton classes and she’s only nine!The stress students have to face in order to be considered ‘accomplished’ seems much too high these days. I mean, who is society to tell us if we are a success or not?Personally, I judge success on traits. Kindness, humility, responsibility. I rather have those traits than be someone who can play 5 musical instruments but can’t say a nice word to anyone.

Shouldn’t kids be taught what’s important? Have we lost our humanity in this search for perfection and so called ‘success’?Accomplishments can only go so far. 20 years from now, people won’t remeber that you were the captain of the basketball team, they’ll remember that you were generous and kind.Being a good person is the core factor. It is what makes the cake. The icing on the cake are just like accomplishments; a bonus.

I want to teach my kids that its okay if they can’t excel at everything, as long as they try their best to do well in the one thing that actually counts- being a good human being.