Measuring stick of Success.

On my way home from work today I realized that the only dinner I’d be eating, is if I actually went to the grocery store and bought groceries. It’s your average, run of the mill, grocery store. Food on the shelves, the flower section on my left, customer service section to my right and what could easily be a couple thousand square foot of unlimited dinner possibilities. Pasta, microwavable dinners, tuna helper and even the famous Shake ‘N Bake. You name it, they have it. All within walking distance. None of these items will mysteriously jump off the shelves and run away. In the back throughout the refrigerated items you’ll find beef. Beef! Turkey, any kind of meat one could desire for that matter. All of which is stationary, all within walking distance.

Civilization has come a long way since the cavemen days. No offense to any caveman who are reading this and are offended, it’s not my intent. Can you imagine a caveman standing with his family at a King Soopers? A SafeWay? Albertsons? I’m sure he would feel like the king of all the caves throughout the land. And why shouldn’t he? *Most of life’s greatest necessity’s at he and his family’s fingertips. The bare necessities. Fast forward 4 Centuries or so, one could see how we’ve evolved. It’s no longer who killed the biggest mammoth and has the most meat to last through the winter who is the most successful, it’s who has the most expensive car, a beautiful body, a family. The list goes on and on. Which is why today more than ever, it’s difficult to gauge an individual measuring stick of success.

As I browse the aisles, my focus on Tostinos pizza bites(If only cavemen were alive to taste the 8th wonder of the world), I came across a wide array of individuals. In one aisle I saw a husband and wife with their newborn baby, so intent on staying by it’s side. Down the ice cream aisle, I saw a younger couple, in their 30′s, holding hands, kissing and holding each other close. The next aisle I saw a well dressed man with a cart full of high priced liquor and champaign. Other aisles I noticed a few people, the moreless “weird” people. As I purchased my dinner, I over heard a man cussing due to his credit card being declined and my trip to my car among the mass of vehicles proved to show more things. An older lady who got into her porsche, or the family piling into the minivan. A young guy opening the door for his girlfriend, Or me, the single guy with his beer and pizza bites going home to an empty house.

After unloading my groceries, I make my way up to my 3rd story 550 sqft space I call home. I unlock my door only to see my neighbor come out with one of her many cats. An older lady, merry in her ways. We smile at each other, nod, and go about our business. My meal in the oven and my ass on my couch I make my way around to various websites. Particularly one that read, “Class of ’97 High School Reunion”. Some people had family’s, I can only imagine that some are single and have great paying jobs, that others are doing what they love to do, and again the list goes on and on. I have no doubts that for my reunion the measuring stick of success will be promptly displayed, and I’m sure ones success will be measured as if measuring the dimensions of a new desk for a new office space and if one does not “measure up” he/she will be quickly dismissed for a failure.

So how do we measure success? Or can we? More importantly can we fairly? Should we at all?

To google I went. In search of the definitive measuring stick of success. A couple forums later, I’m as clueless as I started. I was hoping that I would be given a strict guideline to follow for success:

1. Drive a car worth more than 30K
2. Have 2 kids
3. Have a BMI of 0
4. A house larger than 3,000sqft * individual living in house.
5. Enough food in the fridge to last a nuclear fallout.
6. Maintain a GPA of 3.8 across 3 Bachelors and 2 Masters.
7. bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh …

Unfortunately I didn’t see one. In fact every answer was different. For those that had kids and a family of up-most importance was the wellbeing of each family member. If they were happy, if they were given a life they never had in a stable household than that’s a successful life. Some it was materialistic things, such as debt, a new car, a big house, name brand products. For others it was intergalactic oneness. I read quite a few different responses. All of which entertaining, and had their own unique ideas to share, and all of which lead to new insight as to how one is “successful” in his or her own life. In the end, your idea of success differed greatly from my idea of being a success.

If I’ve learned anything from all of this, the people watching and the limited research it’s this.
Before you whip our your measuring stick and measure me from head to toe on if I’ve been successful or not. Hand the Measuring stick of success over to me, let me be the judge of my own success, and mind your own fucking business.

*I’m assuming that not having the need to hunt for food, to be fat and merry was one of cavemans necessities

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