Success Expectation and the Art of Not Giving Up

Thoughts on the challenges we face on the path to success and the importance of not giving up...

Everyone faces challenges in life. These challenges sometimes seem so overwhelming that giving up appears to be the easiest option. However, true success emerges exactly at this point.

The art of not giving up is not just stubbornness, but also the ability to develop a smart strategy. Every failure is actually a learning opportunity.

From the moment we open our eyes to life, the responsibility of "achieving" that is placed on us manifests itself in every stage of our lives. I think we gain the right to ask ourselves a question about "success" that leaves pressure on us at this point: Could our expectation of success be a bit high?

What is Success?

Success, which has been defined for years, is mentioned by Niyazibeyoğlu (2018) in his article that success is a term that varies from person to person, while also including Cüceloğlu's definition of success (p. 115). Cüceloğlu (2016) associates success with inner peace, stating that success is making the best of what one can do by making the most efficient use of one's own potential. So how exactly will we be successful?

The Key to Success

The definition of success as success depends on many factors, but first of all, the person's previous situation should be evaluated. For example, getting up from the chair we're sitting in and taking a few steps doesn't mean anything to any individual, but it's a huge success for a paralyzed individual. At a certain point, the cultural factor also shows itself as a local or misplaced, debatable issue. In the world, a pregnant woman can be attributed as successful or unsuccessful due to the gender of the baby she carries in her womb - despite being a situation that no one can interfere with - and can be judged by her environment. But isn't the important thing that the baby is healthy? According to culture, age, gender...

Due to the norms formed in society, something that is not attributed as success in our culture can be a source of pride in another culture. If I need to justify myself further, most families in Turkey prefer their child to be an engineer or a doctor rather than having a profession dealing with art, but in some European countries, due to the value given to art, their children having a profession dealing with art can be a source of pride for them.

Since a voice comes from every head, what we need to do is certain. Breaking away from external opinions, setting a goal for yourself and moving forward for that cause, -regardless of the future result- is a success. Of course, this doesn't mean not being open to criticism at all, you also need to listen to feedback. After weighing it on your own scale, the key point of the job lies in not giving up, getting up every morning and continuing. So why is not giving up important?

Why is Not Giving Up Important?

Michael Jordan is not accepted to the basketball team in high school because he is short and untalented. When Jordan tells his mother about this situation at home, his mother tells him "What matters is not how small you are within the team; it's how big a team you have inside you..." and he continues his journey without giving up. Today, he is not only one of the first basketball legends that come to mind when NBA is mentioned, but also among the first ten people whose names are mentioned when basketball is mentioned.

If we show another example, Roger Bannister became the first athlete to complete 1 mile in under 4 minutes. At Iffley Road Stadium in England, he achieved a first in athletics by completing his running time (3:59.4) in 1964 (Litsky, 2018). Although Bannister's record was broken many times afterwards, as the one who achieved what was said to be impossible, he wrote his name in history by breaking paradigms.

An individual who listens to the expectations of his environment may cause things to get worse with the pressure on him. Therefore, regardless of scaling his own success, he should appreciate himself even for a small thing and show the courage to continue his path without giving up. Achieving great things emerges as a result of other small successes. After all, the way to reach the top is to start from the bottom and climb.

If the athletes I mentioned had given up, they would have been just anyone. If they had given up, we wouldn't hear their names today. It's very easy to give opinions about many others without knowing how many mornings they tried persistently, what sacrifices they made for their goals, what they turned a deaf ear to, but there's always an unseen side of the iceberg...

References:

1. Litsky, F. (2018). Roger Bannister, First Athlete to Break the 4-Minute Mile, Dies at 88. Roger Bannister, First Athlete to Break the 4-Minute Mile, Dies at 88 — The New York Times (nytimes.com)

2. MICHAEL JORDAN. (n.d.). https://www.armonikekemeliktedavisi.com/hikaye/44-michael-jordan.aspx

3. Naz, R. (2019). Success is not impossible. IIENSTITU. https://www.iienstitu.com/blog/basari-imkansiz-degildir

4. Niyazibeyoğlu, T. (2018). Success and Spirituality. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/eskiyeni/issue/37339/432107