Story by: Ali Booth
The pressure to succeed can come from anywhere: friends, family, teachers, even yourself. It is an epidemic fueled by society’s belief that people, especially young people, have to be the best at everything they do.
The comparison that inevitably results from the realization that there are others who are smarter, prettier, or more athletic traps students in a dangerous cycle of striving for success but never realizing when they have achieved it.
We are confronted every day by the message that in order to have any value in society, we must conform to the world while also rising above it. Parents, friends, and teachers demand perfection, leading to us demanding it of ourselves.
Success, however, does not mean perfection. It means putting forth your best effort and persevering despite hardships. Even if you don’t get the highest grade in the class or the best time in track, you can still have found success. The important part is knowing that you tried your hardest and using your failures to improve.
Senior Kiana Trippler, an IB student and president of NHS, believes that “failure can be as much of a learning experience” as doing well. The Growl staff agrees that failure is an opportunity to grow not only in your skills, but as a person.
Not achieving the results you want is discouraging, but “you have to learn not to beat yourself up over it,” Trippler continues. It is important to appreciate the journey to success, even the difficult parts. Instead of using failures to put yourself down, use them as motivation to do better next time.
Students who have already become successful often suffer most from the pressure to continue doing well. While “it’s nice to get the scholarship or get the grade and accomplish things,” it is also “stressful when people start expecting that,” says Trippler.
Trippler explains that she “lost some of the things I am passionate about and a little bit of my creativity” because of the pressure she feels to meet the expectations of herself, her family, and her school.
In the pursuit of achievement, it is easy for students to lose their sense of what makes them unique. Though “tests are important,” when “you focus on one thing you forget to succeed in other areas,” says Trippler.
If the one-track pursuit of success is so detrimental, why does it continue to draw students seeking approval from their families, their schools, and themselves? Trippler thinks this phenomenon comes about in part because “our society has the idea of school being very fast-paced and competitive. Because of that, people focus on success. People put emphasis on the end goal (college) and focus on the numbers instead of individual growth.”
Students seem to hold the opinion that they have to achieve unnatural levels of success in order to survive and thrive in the world after high school. While grades, creative pursuits and sports are certainly important, they should not be the main focus of our lives.
The Growl suggests taking time to cultivate hobbies, spending time with friends or family, and relaxing instead of being focused on academic and extracurricular success.
The pressure to succeed is dangerously high, especially for students. Whether that pressure comes from the students themselves or from those around them, it is essential for students to “focus less on the numbers and more on yourself as a person and focus less on getting things wrong and more on what you did right” according to Trippler.
The comparison that inevitably results from the realization that there are others who are smarter, prettier, or more athletic traps students in a dangerous cycle of striving for success but never realizing when they have achieved it.
We are confronted every day by the message that in order to have any value in society, we must conform to the world while also rising above it. Parents, friends, and teachers demand perfection, leading to us demanding it of ourselves.
Success, however, does not mean perfection. It means putting forth your best effort and persevering despite hardships. Even if you don’t get the highest grade in the class or the best time in track, you can still have found success. The important part is knowing that you tried your hardest and using your failures to improve.
Senior Kiana Trippler, an IB student and president of NHS, believes that “failure can be as much of a learning experience” as doing well. The Growl staff agrees that failure is an opportunity to grow not only in your skills, but as a person.
Not achieving the results you want is discouraging, but “you have to learn not to beat yourself up over it,” Trippler continues. It is important to appreciate the journey to success, even the difficult parts. Instead of using failures to put yourself down, use them as motivation to do better next time.
Students who have already become successful often suffer most from the pressure to continue doing well. While “it’s nice to get the scholarship or get the grade and accomplish things,” it is also “stressful when people start expecting that,” says Trippler.
Trippler explains that she “lost some of the things I am passionate about and a little bit of my creativity” because of the pressure she feels to meet the expectations of herself, her family, and her school.
In the pursuit of achievement, it is easy for students to lose their sense of what makes them unique. Though “tests are important,” when “you focus on one thing you forget to succeed in other areas,” says Trippler.
If the one-track pursuit of success is so detrimental, why does it continue to draw students seeking approval from their families, their schools, and themselves? Trippler thinks this phenomenon comes about in part because “our society has the idea of school being very fast-paced and competitive. Because of that, people focus on success. People put emphasis on the end goal (college) and focus on the numbers instead of individual growth.”
Students seem to hold the opinion that they have to achieve unnatural levels of success in order to survive and thrive in the world after high school. While grades, creative pursuits and sports are certainly important, they should not be the main focus of our lives.
The Growl suggests taking time to cultivate hobbies, spending time with friends or family, and relaxing instead of being focused on academic and extracurricular success.
The pressure to succeed is dangerously high, especially for students. Whether that pressure comes from the students themselves or from those around them, it is essential for students to “focus less on the numbers and more on yourself as a person and focus less on getting things wrong and more on what you did right” according to Trippler.