Success

"The pursuit of happiness" is a relatively new idea. Up until the Industrial Revolution, most of humanity was simply trying to survive, not pursue happiness.

I tend to view calls for more government involvement in our lives as a form of *new* slavery. The government view seems to be that less risk (and therefore more security) equals greater happiness. Life in general seems to indicate otherwise. Different studies over the past few decades have confirmed the hypothesis that happiness comes from the freedom to make individual choices -- whether in one's personal life or in the workplace. The unhappiest people are not necessarily those who are the poorest, but rather those with the least amount of freedom, and therefore the most limited choices. How else to explain the continuing surge of immigrants to the US from other countries?

We do not witness people risking life and limb to sneak into Somalia or Syria. No, there is something here, although it is slowly being eroded by our profligate spending, which attracts people from all over the world. Freedom and liberty come at a price, however: the possibility of failure. In fact, failure is almost inevitable for most. And yet, people continue to come, and to pursue. If you ask any self-made person which they value more, most will say their failures rather than their successes, since it is only through trial-and-error that progress can occur. Witness Babe Ruth, Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, or Albert Einstein.

Since the Great Depression our government has intruded into our lives in order to save us from ourselves. Being an optimistic and compassionate country, we have elected leaders who promise cradle-to-grave security in many areas of our lives, thereby reducing the risk of failure or pain. Today we have entire generations of adults who were reared on the philosophy of equality based on equal outcomes. No failure and only success. Great for self-esteem.

Or is it? Do self-esteem and happiness come from never having faced pain, rejection, or failure? Or do they come from overcoming these certainties of life, and thriving in spite of the barriers, and being, therefore, successful?