STANDARDS
What is the S.I unit of success? While we contemplate the answer to this question, let me define "standards". Without referring to the dictionary, a standard is a reference against which things are measured, for instance in weights we have milligrams, grams, kilograms etc, in lengths we have, Centimeters, Meters, Kilometers etc, in volume we have centilitres, Millilitres and Litres...you get the point. Such that no matter how light a feather is compared to the weight of a stone, 10grams of feathers and 10grams of stones will be as heavy has 10grams of anything else, reason being that the gram is a standard and for anything to weigh up to a gram, it must attain a certain weight requirement. It is a standard!
The opening question is borne out of a sense of bewilderment to the way people compete and compare themselves against one another, failing to realize that unlike weights, length, time and many other things which have standards of measurement as such objective, others like success, are subjective, at best relative and are at the mercy of the person defining them.
Ergo, to a man who views success as having the finer things of life; a fleet of cars, an estate, so much money you don't bother checking your balance, gadgets and whatever fad he is into, nothing will suffice, not even a happy marriage, well brought up kids, a thriving medium scale business, whereas all these count as success to another man!
It's safe then to say that success has as many definitions as there are people in the world with each person having his/her tailored-fit definition. The root of my bewilderment can thus be traced to this very knowledge, that if there are as many definitions as there are souls on this earth, those who go comparing themselves with people and end up feeling depressed and even suicidal, against what standard do they measure if they're successful or not? Because even Dangote, as rich as he is, is not a standard measure of success, reason being that albeit money is good, some people would rather have a happy marriage than money, if the two are mutually exclusive, such that a happy marriage for them will define success more than all the money in the world ever would.
Besides, a wise man once said that "don't be so poor that the only thing you have to offer is your money" implying that even money as important as it is, when is the only thing you have going for you, you're considered poor.
Hang on! I am not against money, money is good and by all means have it, lots of it, but let it not become your yardstick for comparing success... because there's no standard for measuring success!
It was Socrates who said "Man, know thyself" what he was thus saying in not so many words but in effect was that you should know what you're capable of, what you want, what makes you happy and what defines success for you, so that, in biblical terms you're not "tossed about by every wind of "doctrine." This however is the lesser evil for me as the disservice of comparison is self-imposed! The greater evil for me is those who take two individuals from different backgrounds, circumstances, exposure, upbringing, experiences and all the other influences nature and nurture exerts on a person and begin to compare them. This couldn't be more unfair. Let every man's greatest competition be to be a better version of who they were yesterday and rest in whatever defines success for them without the society as constituted by you and me having to make them feel like failures. To each his own!
Selah