What’s Wrong With Legitimate Success?

by Jewel Pickert

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In the twice-weekly newspaper that my mother gets, there’s always a “Super Quiz.” Each edition focuses on a particular theme. There’s a warm-up question that doesn’t count, a few freshman-level questions, graduate questions, and finally, Ph.D. questions. You get one point for each correct freshman question, two points for graduate, and three for Ph.D. Then a legend tells you what the range of points received says about you.

My mother always calls me to take this quiz. Many times, I end up being “plenty smart.” One time, with a science theme, I got to be an “honors graduate.” Another time, I was directed to “hit the books.”

In this situation, it’s a fun exercise with no payoff. But what about those instances where education matters?

You’d think someone’s legitimate success would receive heartfelt accolades, but such isn’t always the case.

I say legitimate because there are those who “win” by cheating or lying. I don’t refer to these methods as “winning.” Instead, that person took the easy way out, hoping he or she wouldn’t get caught.

I remember getting good grades (legitimately) in grade school and high school. I didn’t look for accolades, because I competed against myself.

Something strange happened, though. Some of the other girls in my class didn’t like my doing well. They wanted me to fail. I didn’t understand why. I didn’t gloat or anything like that, but still, they were determined to get me to do poorly.

It was clear what the choice was. Either I continued to do well and ended up feeling miserable or I slacked off and made the other girls supposedly feel better at my expense. Quite a choice, wasn’t it?

I decided I couldn’t control how they felt. But I could control the amount of effort I put into my studies. Since I wanted to learn and to do the best I could, I continued to study and got harassed for it. Oh, well.

I’ve found that that mindset doesn’t only surface in school.

Once when I was a product manager at a manufacturing company, the product line I took care of did very well. Keep in mind, it took many people to make the product line do well, not just me.

Yet, some who were with other product lines wanted to get a “piece of the action,” as they say. Even though each product line was distinct, apparently, it was thought that somewhere, somehow, some little thing I did would magically transform their results, if only they knew what that little something was.

Instead of tending to their own product line, they seemed to like knitpicking at the one I was working on. Another curious reaction to someone’s success.

I’ve heard similar stories from others. In one case, people from other departments in a store wanted a successful department head to not do as well, so they wouldn’t look so bad. And all were part of the same company.

When did success become a dirty word?

Legitimate success should be applauded. Successful people deserve it. They’ve worked honestly for their achievements. I see nothing wrong with them getting the fruits of their labor.

Think of when someone reads a book. It doesn’t matter what the topic is. To some extent, the reader will internalize that information.

Why not make it worth your while and read something that will help you and will give you a positive mindset? Why waste time on negative garbage?

Isn’t that what happens with success? The people who work toward a positive, successful outcome tend to be positive. The complainers who have no answers and make no effort to create a positive, successful outcome get mired in the negative.

For all the hassle I’ve endured in my early years, I have never regretted trying to do the best and to be the best I could be. Had I succumbed to peer pressure, I would have felt cheated, I’m sure.

There’s nothing wrong with legitimate success. I wish more people would work for it.

As always, I will strive to add a dose of realism, while putting some worth in your while.