We put an insane amount of pressure on ourselves to "be successful" without even fully knowing what "success" means. Strayer University shed a lot of light on just how impossible our standards are for ourselves with a poignant video where people and their loved ones ranked their success, and then compared the scores with each other. Across the board, the scores that people gave themselves were lower — sometimes significantly lower — than the ones that their loved ones gave them.
There is bad news and good news here: the bad news is that (big surprise) we tend to devalue our own worth. We hold ourselves to impossible standards and don't recognize the very awesome achievements we have made, because they aren't "there" yet — wherever "there" is in our heads. But the good news is that even when we don't fully believe in ourselves, we are adept at finding people who love and support us no matter what, and are able to see us for what we are worth. In an ideal world we would be able to treat ourselves with the same unconditional support as we do with the people we love, but in the meantime, at least we know we have that support.
People Were Asked To Rank Their Success On A Scale Of 1-10
When they explained the reasoning behind their lower rankings, people cited insecurity, and saying that they weren't in jobs that they felt were something they wanted to pursue, or even just that there were "a lot of variables" in life that determined success. People tended to look at the failings in one area of their lives instead of attributing their success to the fuller, broader picture of things they'd accomplished or growth they had made.
People's Loved Ones Were Then Asked To Rank The Success Of The Person On A Scale Of 1-10
Every single one of them ranked the success of their loved one far and away beyond what they had ranked themselves. They shared their stories, their whole stories, and the parts of themselves that they didn't acknowledge, something only somebody who loved them could genuinely appreciate and understand.
This video is a PSA: Remind the people you love how much they are worth, and don't forget to go easy on yourself, too.
Images: YouTube(5)
