In the TED Talk, "A kinder, gentler philosophy of success," Alain de Botton explores the ideas of success and failure and how the anxiety and pressures we face in our every day lives connect to tragedy. The video begins with de Botton's explanation of reasons and pressures that may make us feel anxious about our place in today's society. He identifies snobbery as an important factor that makes us second-guess ourselves and feel insecure about who we are and what path we are traveling in life. He also recognizes the hope that we all share for our careers. I strongly agree with and can relate to de Botton's thoughts about this second pressure we face. We have always been taught that we can do anything we please, that anything is possible when we put our mind and energy toward achieving a goal. Our nation is also founded on the idea that everyone is created equal. Does this mean we are all equal? De Botton identifies envy as the dominant emotion of society and explains how it is linked to the spirit of equality. This spirit of equality combined with deep inequalities in our society is the source of this envy and anxiety we experience. We may feel envious of others who are more successful in different areas than we are, but the truth is, we all have our talents and things that we excel in, and we all have things that we aren't as good at. The feeling of envy stems from these inequalities and the spirit we have been taught that we should be able to achieve the same things that anyone else is able to.
De Botton did not only discuss the troubles and pressures that we face, but he presented a few sources of solace, comfort, and relief. He identifies Tragic Art as providing a level of sympathy that you may not see in real life situations. For example, de Botton tells us that although he lost, it would be crazy to call Hamlet a loser. He also gave outstanding advice about how to create goals and measure our success by saying, "we should make sure that we are the office of our own ambitions." I think it is interesting that we all have an idea of what success is: making a lot of money, or having a prestigious career. I agree with de Botton's thoughts because we are all different and our ideas of success should all be different too. We can all achieve realistic goals if we put our minds to them, but it is important that they are our goals, not just what is considered "successful" by society.
De Botton did not only discuss the troubles and pressures that we face, but he presented a few sources of solace, comfort, and relief. He identifies Tragic Art as providing a level of sympathy that you may not see in real life situations. For example, de Botton tells us that although he lost, it would be crazy to call Hamlet a loser. He also gave outstanding advice about how to create goals and measure our success by saying, "we should make sure that we are the office of our own ambitions." I think it is interesting that we all have an idea of what success is: making a lot of money, or having a prestigious career. I agree with de Botton's thoughts because we are all different and our ideas of success should all be different too. We can all achieve realistic goals if we put our minds to them, but it is important that they are our goals, not just what is considered "successful" by society.