HEALTH WELLBEING.

Notes on success and celebrating kindness. 

It can be our tendency in our culture to herald great external accomplishments; materialism, status and achievement.

Whilst unquestionably these ‘sucessess’ can represent a level of personal determination, spirit and resilience, when over pursued they can lead us towards a life that feels unbalanced and dull.

As always in human endeavours there exists nuance in all.

It is known that up to a certain threshold of financial income and nothing above, leads to a greater feeling of happiness, through the provision of meeting basic human needs. The need for shelter, warmth and food. Objects can signify meaning and enhance the quality of our daily existence.

Pursuing external goals can feel rewarding, overcoming challenge and adversity, receiving acknowledgement. However often in the achievement of external goals are the feelings of reward ever enduring.

In their sole pursuit we can miss the most life affirming qualities. Those such as kindness, compassion, dignity, care, that are seldomly celebrated or woven into our definitions of success.

Yet what they offer reaches far beyond contemporary and external ideals of accomplishment. These qualities are the fabric of our being, enriching us on a cellular level. They are the more quiet and profoundly transformative of human achievements. They often cannot be seen, objectified or honored in numerical value.

However what they offer in human value far outweighs anything of the material world.

18. September. 2025.

Helen Coutts.

References and Further Reading/ Listening.

Kahneman, D. (2011) Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Giroux, and Strauss.

Tippet K,Abraham Verghese and Denise Pope, (2019) How Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? Onbeing Podcast. Accessed Online here. https://onbeing.org/programs/abraham-verghese-and-denise-pope-how-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up/