Sucess and Misery - Essay Example

Success and Misery - Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey - IntroductionLife in general is full of ups and down. Even if we have become successful in education and career, there will always be a part of our life that can make us feel miserable and unfulfilled. As part of discussing some events related to life’s success and misery, the book entitled “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” which was written by Stephen R. Covey (1990) will be considered in throughout the discussion.

Childhood ExperiencesThe childhood experiences of each individual matters a lot in terms of allowing us to become who we are as we enter into adulthood stage. These challenges include becoming a success or failure in terms of academic achievements or the ability of a child to become strongly involved in sports activities. (pp. 16 – 17) When a child becomes unsuccessful in either school or sports activities, they tend to develop a self-inferiority complex as they grow old even if they have very supportive parents (p. 16).There are also cases wherein some children may not experience financial problems because their parents are able to financially support his/her material needs.

However, not all of these children are able to enjoy a good family life since their parents need to spend more time on career rather than spending time on them. On the contrary, some children can experience having supportive parents but failed to enjoy the benefit of having excessive monetary wealth.Success in Balancing Career and Family LifeThe childhood experience of each person has something to do with their ability to balance having a good career and a family life. Normally, children who had experienced having a good childhood and family life are the ones with a greater chance of being able to maintain a successful family life when they get married.

Some people are unsuccessful when it comes to balancing a successful career and a good family life. As a result of staying focus on career growth, some people could be experiencing enormous success with his or her professional life but remains empty in terms of being able to maintain a good relationship with a special someone or build a long-term happy family (p. 3). It is not a very bad thing to become successful in business or having a stable profession. However, the consequences of spending too much time on career development is so great that we tend to lose our relationship and attachment with our love ones.

As an end result, a married man can have uncontrollable family and relationship problems which may have started from the absence of regular communication and quality time with the wife and children. Eventually, a successful businessman or someone who has a reputable and well dignified profession may end up raising rebellious children who are engaged with the use of illegal drugs (p. 16) or has formed bad habit like smoking and drinking. It is also possible for a married man to end up having a divorce. (p. 16) ConclusionIt is possible for a person to become successful in life but still remains miserable at the same time.

People will always find something in their life that will make them feel unsatisfied and miserable. By being able to develop a positive outlook in life, we can always convert these negative life experiences into something positive.Bibliography:Covey, S. R. (1990). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. Simon & Schuster.