Success is often seen as the ultimate goal in life. Many people spend their entire lives striving for it. However, this pursuit can include some negative consequences. It might not actually be the key to our happiness. Here are 9 reasons why you should reconsider your obsession with success.

1. Success Isn’t Easy to Define
Success is subjective, and what may be considered a success by one person may not be considered the same by another. Even our idea of success can change based on age or life experience. Sometimes chasing success means it can seem like an endless and frustrating pursuit.

2. The Pursuit of Success Can Lead to Burnout
Constantly striving for success can impact your mental and physical health. An obsession with success can lead to prioritising it more than your own well-being.

3. Success Might Not Make You Happy
Success is often portrayed as the key to happiness, but this is not necessarily true. There is no guarantee that success will fix all your problems. In fact, many people regret the things they gave up along the way to success.

4. Success Can Lead to Selfishness
Focusing solely on our own success can make us selfish and neglectful of others. While the success may feel great, it is balanced by the damage we did to our relationships and reputation.

5. Success Can Cost You
Success is not always synonymous with wealth. Many people have lost everything on their journey toward success. Pursuing success often involves taking financial risks that don’t always pay off.

6. Success Creates Complacency
Often when people reach a certain level of success, they become complacent. This might not be the end of the world, but it can stop us from pushing ourselves to grow and improve.

7. Sometimes Success Makes Us Cross the Line
In pursuing success, some people may resort to unethical or illegal behaviour. This type of behaviour can ruin your reputation (at best) or end up having much more serious life-long consequences.

8. Fosters A Fear of Failure
When we become obsessed with success, we risk developing a fear of failure. Thinking of failure is terrifying when our whole persona is wrapped up in the idea of success. This fear can hold us back from learning and growing.

9. It Can Hide Our Purpose
If our sole focus is achieving success, we may lose sight of our true passions and purpose. We pursue what we think we want while what we really want slips away. This can lead to a lack of fulfillment even if we achieve success.