Euthanasia can be defined as the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit. Usually it can be categorized into forms – voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia requires the patient’s consent and is legalized in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. Non-voluntary euthanasia which is illegal in all countries is when the patient’s consent is not given. Euthanasia conducted on a person who is able to provide informed consent but does not because they do not choose to die or because they were not asked is involuntary euthanasia. Euthanasia can be supported because of rights and also argued against because of the difficulty to assess suffering.
Euthanasia gives the opportunity to exercise certain rights in terms of the patient having the right to die with dignity, the family’s right to proper closure and the medical personnel’s right to give their patient the best option. According to the Remmelink Commission’s Report (1991), 56 percent of the patients who requested euthanasia did so because of a feeling of “loss of dignity”. This dignity is often linked to the lack of autonomy the patient suffers. He or she would have experienced a certain degree of autonomy before their health deteriorated. To lose that independence triggers a sense of helplessness and a blow to their dignity in regards to how they lived their life before. Not able to function normally on a daily basis and to be in constant care of others seems to be worse option than death and thus, patients would rather end their lives on their own terms with dignity. And they have a right to that death just as they had a right to live their life whatever way they wanted. Bioethicist H.T. Engelhardt’s question (2000) “If rationality, freedom, dignity and self-determination distinguish the good life, should they not characterize the good death?” proves this point.
Euthanasia does not only affect the patient but everyone who is involved in their dying process. In light with the patient’s right to die with dignity, their family would also want their loved one to retain their dignity. They would also get a better closure knowing that the patient got what he wanted regardless of whether that is in line with their own opinion. They deserve to exercise that right since they are the ones that have most probably watched their love one suffer for a long time. In addition, research done by Swarte, van der Lee, van der Bom, van der Bout and Heintz in 2003 shows that “The bereaved family and friends of cancer patients who dead by euthanasia coped better with respect to grief symptoms and post-traumatic stress than the bereaved of comparable cancer patients who dies a natural death”. This could be because they were more mentally prepared and had the chance to express their last goodbyes. Moreover, medical personnel who handled the patient’s case should have the right to give him the best option. If they already know that no treatment would have any positive effect anymore and the patient has given consent, euthanasia then becomes that best option.
Euthanasia gives rise to the question of how to assess the suffering of the patient properly with regards to the patient’s individualistic perception of pain and the contradiction of medical personnel’s opinions. In research done by Dees, Vernooij-Dassen, Dekkers and van Weel in 2010, it was found out that “There is no generally accepted definition of ‘unbearable suffering’ in the context of a request for Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. On the basis of the articles reviewed, we propose the following conceptual definition: ‘Unbearable suffering in the context of a request for EAS is a profoundly personal experience of an actual or perceived impending threat to the integrity or life of the person, which has a significant duration and a central place in the person's mind.” From this we can see that there is no proper, solid guideline to assess the suffering of the patient and the situation can only rely on the patient’s judgment of their pain. However, pain tolerance changes with age, gender, experience and other factors. For example, generally speaking, a sixteen-year-old would be able to tolerate the pain that a six-year-old would not be able to. So when a patient claims that they are in pain so much so that they would rather choose death over it, we do not know if really their limit of pain. Moreover, in some cases, there are conflicting opinions of the medical personnel handling the case of the patient who has requested euthanasia because of unbearable pain. For example, the medical doctor might be agreeable with the patient but the attached psychiatrist might claim that the patient does not have the mental capability to take such a decision. In this way, it gets more complex and difficult to assess the suffering of the patient and decide whether it is right to carry out euthanasia or not.
In conclusion, proponents of euthanasia mention the rights of the people involved and opponents argue about the difficulty to assess the suffering of the patient. While it is illegal in almost all countries in the world and thus, does not receive as much global attention, it will definitely become a hot issue in the near future with all the advancement in medical technology taking place. We must then prepare to take a stand with a clear conscience. After all, this is truly, a life and death matter.
Reference List
Cica, Natasha. (1996). Euthanasia - the Australian Law in an International Context. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rp/1996-97/97rp4.htm#magic_tag_18
Dees, M., Vernooij-Dassen, M., Dekkers, W. and van Weel, C. (2010), Unbearable suffering of patients with a request for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide: an integrative review. Psycho-Oncology, 19: 339–352. doi: 10.1002/pon.1612
Swarte, N.B., Van der Lee, M.L., Van der Bom, J.G., Van der Bout, J., Heintz, P.M. (2003, 24 July). Effects of euthanasia on the bereaved family and friends: a cross sectional study. British Medical Journal. doi: 10.1136/bmj.327.7408.189
Taboada, P. Human Dignity and the Ethics and Aesthetics of Pain and Suffering. International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care. Retrieved from http://www.hospicecare.com/Ethics/monthlypiece/eithics2003/pom_feb03.htm
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Should capital punishment be abolished? Discuss.
Capital punishment has been a topic of ferocious debate for decades between human rights organizations and government policy makers. Also known as the death penalty, capital punishment can be served to criminals via beheading, hanging, electrocution, lethal injection and shooting. According to Amnesty International, a global movement for human rights, as of 2010, there are 96 capital punishment abolitionist countries in the world. In addition, there are 139 countries that support and practice capital punishment in their justice systems. In line with that, capital punishment should not be abolished because of retribution, incapacitation and deterrence.
Firstly, A criminal undergoes the death penalty as retribution- deserving and inevitable punishment through death for the crime that he committed. This is most evident in the cases of murderers. As they made a choice to intentionally take away a life, they simultaneously, forfeit their own right to live and have to face the consequences in front of the law. This might be superficially seen as revengeful or employing an “eye for an eye” approach but that is only applicable if a human does it, not the law. As Edward van den Haag, John M. Olin Professor of Jurisprudence and Public Policy of Fordham University mentioned (1986), the law’s punishments were never created to avenge or compensate for the victim’s suffering. Rather it is used to “vindicate the law and the social order undermined by the crime”. In addition, families of the victim would have a chance of experiencing a better closure if they know that the person that killed their loved one suffered retribution through death. Opponents of capital punishments can argue that how is one able to judge which crimes receive the death sentence as retribution and which don’t. For example, Singapore hands out capital punishment for drug trafficking but Japan only does for treason and homicide. But let us think about it, is it possible to actually devise a proper way of judging how to do that? Every country would have the same kind of laws then, let alone the ones related to capital punishment. By committing a crime, the criminal automatically assumed the risk of facing legal punishment and if that is capital punishment, so be it.
Secondly, an offender is incapacitated; meaning his ability to commit further offenses is eliminated when capital punishment is performed on him. It is a country’s duty and moral obligation to protect its citizens as much as possible. By letting a criminal out and allowing the possibility for him to recidivate, we are putting the lives of citizens in danger. Thus, it is better to execute him. Supporters of abolishing capital punishment often mention about the value of life and how we as humans, do not have the right to take away the life of the offender. But it is plain that the values of potential victims’ lives are worth more than the criminal’s due to the crime that he purposely did. In addition, the Supreme Court of United States of America mentioned (1976) that “the decision that capital punishment may be the appropriate sanction in extreme cases is an expression of the community's belief that certain crimes are themselves so grievous an affront to humanity that the only adequate response may be the penalty of death”. For example, well-known terrorist leader, Osama Bin Laden was shot to death by an US operation military unit on May 2nd, 2011. His continual crimes against humanity through terrorism deserved him capital punishment and he was stopped from taking away more innocents’ lives.
Lastly, an offender who goes through capital punishment for the crime he committed, deters others from doing the crime. Famous playwright John Webster wrote “Death hath ten thousand several doors. For men to take their exits.” and it is rare that someone would want to take their “exit” as a criminal and the law as the Grim Reaper. According to the research done by Dezhbakhsh, Rubin and Shepherd in 2003, “capital punishment has a strong deterrent effect; each execution results, on average, in eighteen fewer murders—with a margin of error of plus or minus ten.” Deterrence does occur because the fear of death is innate in all of us. Since hearing the tales of Captain Hook sending Peter Pan to walk the plank or Snow White eating the poisoned apple, from a young age, death has been portrayed as a negative thing and the finality of it scares us. People, then would not commit crimes that would result them in receiving capital punishment because, simply, they do not want to die and not especially in a painful way under the scrutiny of law. There has been research suggesting that capital punishment does not deter offenders but as John McAdams, professor of Political Science at Marquette University said (1997)“If we execute murderers and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of murderers. If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former”.
In conclusion, capital punishment is a much needed strategy in the justice systems of countries because it is a form of retribution, incapacitation and deterrence. If all countries are converted into abolitionists, it might give rise to dire consequences in society. Though reviews can be made to the how capital punishment is carried out to make it more shorter and sharper to avoid unnecessary excessive pain for the offender, it is not right to abolish it all together as it is just justified to punish those who deserve it.
Reference List
Rogers, S. (2011). Death penalty statistics, country by country. The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2012 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/mar/29/death-penalty-countries-world
Van Den Haag, E. (1986). The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense. PBS. Retrieved 12 January 2012 from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/angel/procon/haagarticle.html
Marshall, J. (1976). Gregg v. Georgia. Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 12 January 2012 from http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0428_0153_ZD1.html
Dezhbakhsh,H. ,Rubin, P.H., & Shepherd, J.M. (2003). Does Capital Punishment Have a Deterrent Effect? New Evidence from Postmoratorium Panel Data [Abstract]. American Law and Economics Review, 5, 344-376. Doi: 10.1093/aler/ahg021
Archer, D., Sarat, A. & McAdams, J. (1997). Purposes of the Death Penalty. American Bar Association. Retrieved 12 January 2012 from http://www.americanbar.org/publications/focus_on_law_studies_home/publiced_focus_spr97pur.html
Firstly, A criminal undergoes the death penalty as retribution- deserving and inevitable punishment through death for the crime that he committed. This is most evident in the cases of murderers. As they made a choice to intentionally take away a life, they simultaneously, forfeit their own right to live and have to face the consequences in front of the law. This might be superficially seen as revengeful or employing an “eye for an eye” approach but that is only applicable if a human does it, not the law. As Edward van den Haag, John M. Olin Professor of Jurisprudence and Public Policy of Fordham University mentioned (1986), the law’s punishments were never created to avenge or compensate for the victim’s suffering. Rather it is used to “vindicate the law and the social order undermined by the crime”. In addition, families of the victim would have a chance of experiencing a better closure if they know that the person that killed their loved one suffered retribution through death. Opponents of capital punishments can argue that how is one able to judge which crimes receive the death sentence as retribution and which don’t. For example, Singapore hands out capital punishment for drug trafficking but Japan only does for treason and homicide. But let us think about it, is it possible to actually devise a proper way of judging how to do that? Every country would have the same kind of laws then, let alone the ones related to capital punishment. By committing a crime, the criminal automatically assumed the risk of facing legal punishment and if that is capital punishment, so be it.
Secondly, an offender is incapacitated; meaning his ability to commit further offenses is eliminated when capital punishment is performed on him. It is a country’s duty and moral obligation to protect its citizens as much as possible. By letting a criminal out and allowing the possibility for him to recidivate, we are putting the lives of citizens in danger. Thus, it is better to execute him. Supporters of abolishing capital punishment often mention about the value of life and how we as humans, do not have the right to take away the life of the offender. But it is plain that the values of potential victims’ lives are worth more than the criminal’s due to the crime that he purposely did. In addition, the Supreme Court of United States of America mentioned (1976) that “the decision that capital punishment may be the appropriate sanction in extreme cases is an expression of the community's belief that certain crimes are themselves so grievous an affront to humanity that the only adequate response may be the penalty of death”. For example, well-known terrorist leader, Osama Bin Laden was shot to death by an US operation military unit on May 2nd, 2011. His continual crimes against humanity through terrorism deserved him capital punishment and he was stopped from taking away more innocents’ lives.
Lastly, an offender who goes through capital punishment for the crime he committed, deters others from doing the crime. Famous playwright John Webster wrote “Death hath ten thousand several doors. For men to take their exits.” and it is rare that someone would want to take their “exit” as a criminal and the law as the Grim Reaper. According to the research done by Dezhbakhsh, Rubin and Shepherd in 2003, “capital punishment has a strong deterrent effect; each execution results, on average, in eighteen fewer murders—with a margin of error of plus or minus ten.” Deterrence does occur because the fear of death is innate in all of us. Since hearing the tales of Captain Hook sending Peter Pan to walk the plank or Snow White eating the poisoned apple, from a young age, death has been portrayed as a negative thing and the finality of it scares us. People, then would not commit crimes that would result them in receiving capital punishment because, simply, they do not want to die and not especially in a painful way under the scrutiny of law. There has been research suggesting that capital punishment does not deter offenders but as John McAdams, professor of Political Science at Marquette University said (1997)“If we execute murderers and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of murderers. If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former”.
In conclusion, capital punishment is a much needed strategy in the justice systems of countries because it is a form of retribution, incapacitation and deterrence. If all countries are converted into abolitionists, it might give rise to dire consequences in society. Though reviews can be made to the how capital punishment is carried out to make it more shorter and sharper to avoid unnecessary excessive pain for the offender, it is not right to abolish it all together as it is just justified to punish those who deserve it.
Reference List
Rogers, S. (2011). Death penalty statistics, country by country. The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2012 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/mar/29/death-penalty-countries-world
Van Den Haag, E. (1986). The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense. PBS. Retrieved 12 January 2012 from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/angel/procon/haagarticle.html
Marshall, J. (1976). Gregg v. Georgia. Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 12 January 2012 from http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0428_0153_ZD1.html
Dezhbakhsh,H. ,Rubin, P.H., & Shepherd, J.M. (2003). Does Capital Punishment Have a Deterrent Effect? New Evidence from Postmoratorium Panel Data [Abstract]. American Law and Economics Review, 5, 344-376. Doi: 10.1093/aler/ahg021
Archer, D., Sarat, A. & McAdams, J. (1997). Purposes of the Death Penalty. American Bar Association. Retrieved 12 January 2012 from http://www.americanbar.org/publications/focus_on_law_studies_home/publiced_focus_spr97pur.html
Friday, December 23, 2011
Analyze strategies to cope with stress as part of the urban rat race
Doctor Hans Selye, pioneering endocrinologist who is praised to be the father of the modern stress theory, once mentioned “It is not stress that kills us. It is our reaction to it.” This, first of all, induces us to question our general notion that stress is a single or series of negative events that occur to us. Or that it is a behavioural response such as nail biting. However, all these are not exactly termed stress and definitely do not kill us. According to the Klinic Community Health Centre (2009), stress is any situation in which we think our skills are inadequate to manage the demands of that situation. The urban rat race shoves us into such conditions often but there are strategies, both psychological and health-related, that can aid us to cope with it.
Firstly, one of the best health-related strategies that we can employ to cope with stress is pertaining to sleep. The urban rat race emphasizes on productivity, be it academic pressure or workplace results and this can produce extreme stress. The American Psychological Association survey in 2008 discovered that 52% of adults lie awake at night because of high stress levels. In 2009, the Department of Psychology of Saint Louis University and the Clayton Sleep Institute researched on eighty-eight university undergraduates on their sleep patterns – if they attain enough sleep of seven hours or more per night and if that timing is consistent over five consecutive weekdays. Early week (Monday to Thursday) sleep was used to identify late week (Friday) perceived strain. Their conclusion revealed that consistent-sufficient sleepers reported less late week perceived strain. It becomes evident here that one has to assess the quantity of everyday numbers of hours of sleep to cope with stress. In addition, the quality of sleep, in terms of regularity of hitting that adequate number is also equally important. But of course, we must also be strike a balance and not use sleep as a form of escapism and oversleep which has detrimental effects on the body and can lead to more stress instead of eliminating it.
Secondly, exercise is another health-related strategy that we can utilize to cope with urban rat race stress. Exercise increases the production of endorphins, the brain's neurotransmitters which create a feeling of well-being. It also improves one’s mood and gives a form of meditation where concentrated focus on the physical activity leads to energy and optimism and most importantly, busts stress (The Mayo Clinic, 2010). Stress can also be viewed as a scientific concept where exercise has numerous benefits on. Telomeres are DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome which protect chromosome from deterioration. University of California San Francisco and Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s research in 2010 revealed that “chronic stress would be related to short telomere length in sedentary individuals, whereas in those who exercise, stress would not have measurable effects on telomere shortening”. Thus, exercise is an exceptionally efficient way to cope with stress, in ways where we can and cannot feel its salutary effects.
Lastly, psychological strategies such as thought-stopping (Klinic Community Health Centre, 2009) can be applied to cope with the urban rat race. Gandhi once said “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” Suppose one is going to start a report presentation to his boss or is waiting for a commencement of a final year paper. It is normal to have thoughts of nervousness and anxiety but too much of it causes stress levels to escalate and can weaken performance. Thought stopping firstly involves choosing that counter-productive stressful thought, concentrating on it and imaging it to happen. Next, is to suddenly, command oneself to stop and empty one’s mind of that thought. Lastly, is to substitute the thought with positive, assertive statements that are relevant to the situation. This method takes practice and time to master but its benefits are excellent because those stressful thoughts would return less and less readily which means one’s stress levels would also significantly get lower and lower.
In conclusion, unless one accepts responsibility for the role one plays in creating or maintaining it, one’s stress level will remain out of control. If we want to cope with stress, we must be ready to confront and deal with it. Blaming stress on others or outside events or assuming it to be part of our personality is unrewarding. If we are able to patiently integrate the strategies mentioned above, we will be more empowered and positive-minded to conquer the urban rat race.
Reference List
Anderson, C. (2010), The impact of sleep on dealing with daily stressors—a need for controlled laboratory evidence. Commentary on Barber, Munz, Bagsby & Powell (2009) ‘Sleep Consistency and Sufficiency: Are Both Necessary for Less Psychological Strain?’. Stress and Health, 26: 194–197. doi: 10.1002/smi.1301
Barber, L. K., Munz, D. C., Bagsby, P. G. and Powell, E. D. (2010), Sleep consistency and sufficiency: are both necessary for less psychological strain?. Stress and Health, 26: 186–193. doi: 10.1002/smi.1292
Klinic Community Health Centre. (2010). Stress & Stress Management. [Brochure].
Mayo Clinic Staff. 2010, July 23). Exercise and stress: Get moving to combat stress. Mayoclinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-and-stress/SR00036
Puterman E, Lin J, Blackburn E, O'Donovan A, Adler N, et al. (2010) The Power of Exercise: Buffering the Effect of Chronic Stress on Telomere Length. PLoS ONE 5(5): e10837. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010837
Reinier, B. (2011). Stress-free Living: Stress Statistics.Presenceinbusiness.com. Retrieved 23 December 2011, from http://presenceinbusiness.com/2011/08/31/stress-free-living-stress-statistics/
Firstly, one of the best health-related strategies that we can employ to cope with stress is pertaining to sleep. The urban rat race emphasizes on productivity, be it academic pressure or workplace results and this can produce extreme stress. The American Psychological Association survey in 2008 discovered that 52% of adults lie awake at night because of high stress levels. In 2009, the Department of Psychology of Saint Louis University and the Clayton Sleep Institute researched on eighty-eight university undergraduates on their sleep patterns – if they attain enough sleep of seven hours or more per night and if that timing is consistent over five consecutive weekdays. Early week (Monday to Thursday) sleep was used to identify late week (Friday) perceived strain. Their conclusion revealed that consistent-sufficient sleepers reported less late week perceived strain. It becomes evident here that one has to assess the quantity of everyday numbers of hours of sleep to cope with stress. In addition, the quality of sleep, in terms of regularity of hitting that adequate number is also equally important. But of course, we must also be strike a balance and not use sleep as a form of escapism and oversleep which has detrimental effects on the body and can lead to more stress instead of eliminating it.
Secondly, exercise is another health-related strategy that we can utilize to cope with urban rat race stress. Exercise increases the production of endorphins, the brain's neurotransmitters which create a feeling of well-being. It also improves one’s mood and gives a form of meditation where concentrated focus on the physical activity leads to energy and optimism and most importantly, busts stress (The Mayo Clinic, 2010). Stress can also be viewed as a scientific concept where exercise has numerous benefits on. Telomeres are DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome which protect chromosome from deterioration. University of California San Francisco and Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s research in 2010 revealed that “chronic stress would be related to short telomere length in sedentary individuals, whereas in those who exercise, stress would not have measurable effects on telomere shortening”. Thus, exercise is an exceptionally efficient way to cope with stress, in ways where we can and cannot feel its salutary effects.
Lastly, psychological strategies such as thought-stopping (Klinic Community Health Centre, 2009) can be applied to cope with the urban rat race. Gandhi once said “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” Suppose one is going to start a report presentation to his boss or is waiting for a commencement of a final year paper. It is normal to have thoughts of nervousness and anxiety but too much of it causes stress levels to escalate and can weaken performance. Thought stopping firstly involves choosing that counter-productive stressful thought, concentrating on it and imaging it to happen. Next, is to suddenly, command oneself to stop and empty one’s mind of that thought. Lastly, is to substitute the thought with positive, assertive statements that are relevant to the situation. This method takes practice and time to master but its benefits are excellent because those stressful thoughts would return less and less readily which means one’s stress levels would also significantly get lower and lower.
In conclusion, unless one accepts responsibility for the role one plays in creating or maintaining it, one’s stress level will remain out of control. If we want to cope with stress, we must be ready to confront and deal with it. Blaming stress on others or outside events or assuming it to be part of our personality is unrewarding. If we are able to patiently integrate the strategies mentioned above, we will be more empowered and positive-minded to conquer the urban rat race.
Reference List
Anderson, C. (2010), The impact of sleep on dealing with daily stressors—a need for controlled laboratory evidence. Commentary on Barber, Munz, Bagsby & Powell (2009) ‘Sleep Consistency and Sufficiency: Are Both Necessary for Less Psychological Strain?’. Stress and Health, 26: 194–197. doi: 10.1002/smi.1301
Barber, L. K., Munz, D. C., Bagsby, P. G. and Powell, E. D. (2010), Sleep consistency and sufficiency: are both necessary for less psychological strain?. Stress and Health, 26: 186–193. doi: 10.1002/smi.1292
Klinic Community Health Centre. (2010). Stress & Stress Management. [Brochure].
Mayo Clinic Staff. 2010, July 23). Exercise and stress: Get moving to combat stress. Mayoclinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-and-stress/SR00036
Puterman E, Lin J, Blackburn E, O'Donovan A, Adler N, et al. (2010) The Power of Exercise: Buffering the Effect of Chronic Stress on Telomere Length. PLoS ONE 5(5): e10837. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010837
Reinier, B. (2011). Stress-free Living: Stress Statistics.Presenceinbusiness.com. Retrieved 23 December 2011, from http://presenceinbusiness.com/2011/08/31/stress-free-living-stress-statistics/
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Explain how people’s difference in their definitions of success influence the way they lead their lives.
Abraham Lincoln once said “Always bear in mind that your resolution to success is more important than any other one thing”. No matter what is the definition one might assign to their own individual notions of success, assuming it is universally accepted as moral and good, it is the firm determination to stick by it and see it through that is essential. This determination is the basic drive that motivates us to lead our lives in a particular way to achieve our personal success goals. According to Daniel Midson-Short of the New Zealand Health&Wealth Report (2009), success can be classified into six types. Out of the six, three – the contributor success, the power-hungry success and the Puritan type of success can be used to explain how people’s difference in their definitions of success influence the way they lead their lives.
First of all, the contributor success is adopted by people who want to create a better world for others and future generations in terms of social work or by their careers. The people who undertake this type of success as their personal definition probably see it is a moral responsibility or they just have a special passion for it. Social work can be expanded into volunteerism, charity, counseling and many more. One apt example of a person who gauged her personal success as a contributor through social work was Mother Theresa. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, Mother Theresa had 610 missions in 123 countries with the sole intention of just doing humanitarian work with no profit and advocating for the rights of the poor and helpless. While this kind of success can be linked with the spiritual type of success, where religion guides one to give back to society and not live for this world, it might not be always true as contribution can be non-religious as well. For example, popular talk-show host, Oprah Winfrey started a reality TV series called the “The Big Give” where it just focused on contributor success type contestants who were given a sum of money to perform philanthropist acts and challenges to emerge as the judges-selected, “Best Philanthropist” winner in the end.
While social work or charity seems to be the general view of giving back to society, it doesn’t have to be so. Using one’s own career can be also of the contributor success. Steve Pavlina, a personal developer who changed careers from being a game developer for this reason, (2009) said the “best long-term outlet for making a meaningful contribution to the world is your career.” Most people have a desire to make a positive difference to the world but when that is not being fulfilled through their careers, they feel guilty and thus invest their money or time for worthy causes such as charity on the side. People of the contributor success category would probably rather use their career itself to contribute to the world such as those in the education sector where their work can let them see the contribution they are making. Poet-cum-teacher, Taylor Mali’s lines, “I make a goddamn difference, what about you?” in comparison to a lawyer, in his famous “What Teachers Make” poem succinctly puts the point across.
Secondly, certain people are influenced by the power-hungry kind of success, leading their lives in that direction, illustrated in politics or business. These sorts of people usually have a dominating personality where they want to have a reign or control over something or people. In light of the recent 2011 Libyan Civil War, there can be no better exemplification of such a people-control character but deceased Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. His dictatorship lasted an astonishing estimate of 42 years, an entire generation, from 1969 to 2011. Throughout his reign of terror, he held various titles such as “Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya” and “Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya” just to justify his top, ultimate position in the government. He held an iron grip to his regime even though his unpopularity was soaring and finally, “when his own people rose up against him, he responded with brutal repression” (Cordon, 2011) with militiamen and warplanes to attack the demonstrators. Power-hungry success is of course, not constricted to politicians alone but those who actively pursue ambitions to be in managerial or leadership roles in their careers can also fall under this category. Control over things such as businesses can also be an aspect for power-hungry success. By owning lots of business ventures, these people might feel a sense of achievement, power and control that they define as their success. Three times Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, is one such businessman whose main investment lies with the Italian media with significant assets in television, newspapers, publishing and cinema. Major ownership in other sectors including finance, banking, insurance, and sport positions him at net wealth of 9 billion according to Forbes Magazine in 2010. Coinciding with the materialistic kind of success too, maybe power-hungry people, experience a lack of control over some personal feature of their lives and thus show their control over something they can.
Thirdly, certain people might define success as the Puritan type of success and allow that to influence them to lead their lives in that way because either they are pressured by their environment to or because they set a standard of personal worth that way. Being pressured by their environment, usually family, to continually prove themselves as successful or worthy of being in such an environment drives such people to constantly check that they are on a certain right track in terms of achievements. Amy Chua, professor at Yale Law School and author of “Battle Hymns of the Tiger Mother” is one such parent who believes in the supposed Chinese way of strict upbringing focusing on academic excellence and discipline and undoubtedly, this does produces results, compared to Western methods. Practicing musical instruments even on vacation, being number one in class in all subjects and participating in only in events that earn you medals are some of the tough love strategies employed by her. Those who have been raised in such a family would then be most probably be Puritan type, even if it is not their choice because it has been ingrained into them since young. But there are those Puritan success people who do not have this environmental pressure and adopt this definition out of choice because they set a standard of personal worth this way. Every achievement increases their sense of worthiness, and there is always another goal once the current one is achieved. But of course, this induces the question of when will they finally be satisfied and actually be happy, looking back at all the achievements they have made.
In conclusion, the definition of success is abstract and cannot be simply put into words. It is personal. It is unique. It is individualistic. Everyone cannot be fitted neatly into any of the categories that were mentioned above and are probably a combination of different types. What matters is that we should find one that works for us. Which leads to an interesting question of will our personal definition of success change as we pass through different stages of our lives? Or is it better to keep one to influence us to lead our whole lives?
Reference List
Midson-Short, D. (2009, January 26). Six types of success. health-wealth.co.nz. Retrieved from http://www.health-wealth.co.nz/home/free-articles/six-types-of-success.html
Mother Theresa. (2011, December 16). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Theresa
Oprah’s Big Give. (2011, December 2). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah%27s_Big_Give
Pavlina, S. (2007, July 27). Contributing through your career. Stevepavlina.com. Retrieved from http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/07/contributing-through-your-career/
Mali, T. (2009). Taylor Mali: What Teachers Make. Taylormali.com. Retrieved from http://www.taylormali.com/index.cfm?webid=13
Muammar Gaddafi. (2011, December 13). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaddafi
Cordon, G. (2011, October 20). Muammar Gaddafi: A 40-year thorn in the West's side. Independent.co.uk. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/muammar-gaddafi-a-40year-thorn-in-the-wests-side-2373395.html
Silvio Berlusconi. (2011, 13 December). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi
Chua, A. (2011). Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Penguin Press. Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://www.npr.org/2011/01/11/132833376/tiger-mothers-raising-children-the-chinese-way
First of all, the contributor success is adopted by people who want to create a better world for others and future generations in terms of social work or by their careers. The people who undertake this type of success as their personal definition probably see it is a moral responsibility or they just have a special passion for it. Social work can be expanded into volunteerism, charity, counseling and many more. One apt example of a person who gauged her personal success as a contributor through social work was Mother Theresa. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, Mother Theresa had 610 missions in 123 countries with the sole intention of just doing humanitarian work with no profit and advocating for the rights of the poor and helpless. While this kind of success can be linked with the spiritual type of success, where religion guides one to give back to society and not live for this world, it might not be always true as contribution can be non-religious as well. For example, popular talk-show host, Oprah Winfrey started a reality TV series called the “The Big Give” where it just focused on contributor success type contestants who were given a sum of money to perform philanthropist acts and challenges to emerge as the judges-selected, “Best Philanthropist” winner in the end.
While social work or charity seems to be the general view of giving back to society, it doesn’t have to be so. Using one’s own career can be also of the contributor success. Steve Pavlina, a personal developer who changed careers from being a game developer for this reason, (2009) said the “best long-term outlet for making a meaningful contribution to the world is your career.” Most people have a desire to make a positive difference to the world but when that is not being fulfilled through their careers, they feel guilty and thus invest their money or time for worthy causes such as charity on the side. People of the contributor success category would probably rather use their career itself to contribute to the world such as those in the education sector where their work can let them see the contribution they are making. Poet-cum-teacher, Taylor Mali’s lines, “I make a goddamn difference, what about you?” in comparison to a lawyer, in his famous “What Teachers Make” poem succinctly puts the point across.
Secondly, certain people are influenced by the power-hungry kind of success, leading their lives in that direction, illustrated in politics or business. These sorts of people usually have a dominating personality where they want to have a reign or control over something or people. In light of the recent 2011 Libyan Civil War, there can be no better exemplification of such a people-control character but deceased Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. His dictatorship lasted an astonishing estimate of 42 years, an entire generation, from 1969 to 2011. Throughout his reign of terror, he held various titles such as “Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya” and “Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya” just to justify his top, ultimate position in the government. He held an iron grip to his regime even though his unpopularity was soaring and finally, “when his own people rose up against him, he responded with brutal repression” (Cordon, 2011) with militiamen and warplanes to attack the demonstrators. Power-hungry success is of course, not constricted to politicians alone but those who actively pursue ambitions to be in managerial or leadership roles in their careers can also fall under this category. Control over things such as businesses can also be an aspect for power-hungry success. By owning lots of business ventures, these people might feel a sense of achievement, power and control that they define as their success. Three times Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, is one such businessman whose main investment lies with the Italian media with significant assets in television, newspapers, publishing and cinema. Major ownership in other sectors including finance, banking, insurance, and sport positions him at net wealth of 9 billion according to Forbes Magazine in 2010. Coinciding with the materialistic kind of success too, maybe power-hungry people, experience a lack of control over some personal feature of their lives and thus show their control over something they can.
Thirdly, certain people might define success as the Puritan type of success and allow that to influence them to lead their lives in that way because either they are pressured by their environment to or because they set a standard of personal worth that way. Being pressured by their environment, usually family, to continually prove themselves as successful or worthy of being in such an environment drives such people to constantly check that they are on a certain right track in terms of achievements. Amy Chua, professor at Yale Law School and author of “Battle Hymns of the Tiger Mother” is one such parent who believes in the supposed Chinese way of strict upbringing focusing on academic excellence and discipline and undoubtedly, this does produces results, compared to Western methods. Practicing musical instruments even on vacation, being number one in class in all subjects and participating in only in events that earn you medals are some of the tough love strategies employed by her. Those who have been raised in such a family would then be most probably be Puritan type, even if it is not their choice because it has been ingrained into them since young. But there are those Puritan success people who do not have this environmental pressure and adopt this definition out of choice because they set a standard of personal worth this way. Every achievement increases their sense of worthiness, and there is always another goal once the current one is achieved. But of course, this induces the question of when will they finally be satisfied and actually be happy, looking back at all the achievements they have made.
In conclusion, the definition of success is abstract and cannot be simply put into words. It is personal. It is unique. It is individualistic. Everyone cannot be fitted neatly into any of the categories that were mentioned above and are probably a combination of different types. What matters is that we should find one that works for us. Which leads to an interesting question of will our personal definition of success change as we pass through different stages of our lives? Or is it better to keep one to influence us to lead our whole lives?
Reference List
Midson-Short, D. (2009, January 26). Six types of success. health-wealth.co.nz. Retrieved from http://www.health-wealth.co.nz/home/free-articles/six-types-of-success.html
Mother Theresa. (2011, December 16). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Theresa
Oprah’s Big Give. (2011, December 2). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah%27s_Big_Give
Pavlina, S. (2007, July 27). Contributing through your career. Stevepavlina.com. Retrieved from http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/07/contributing-through-your-career/
Mali, T. (2009). Taylor Mali: What Teachers Make. Taylormali.com. Retrieved from http://www.taylormali.com/index.cfm?webid=13
Muammar Gaddafi. (2011, December 13). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaddafi
Cordon, G. (2011, October 20). Muammar Gaddafi: A 40-year thorn in the West's side. Independent.co.uk. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/muammar-gaddafi-a-40year-thorn-in-the-wests-side-2373395.html
Silvio Berlusconi. (2011, 13 December). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi
Chua, A. (2011). Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Penguin Press. Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://www.npr.org/2011/01/11/132833376/tiger-mothers-raising-children-the-chinese-way
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