# What trait or characteristic is the most important in your personal definition of success? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 28, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978 "2021-04-28T19:47:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/1 "2021-04-28T19:47:19Z")
Select the one option that you personally believe is most important in whether you are successful or not. _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/1))_ Gallup did a similar poll a few years ago asking the same question and also what people perceived that the majority of society believed was most important in determining success. The responses were very different based upon the perspective of the how people responded. Here is the breakdown of the poll question based upon how people perceive society views success: Status - 45.9% Education - 19.8% Finance - 8.8% Work - 8.4% Character - 4.9% Relationships - 4.7% Quality of life - 4.1% Health - 3.5% ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/2 "2021-04-28T20:05:53Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Status - 45.9% Yikes! I would have put that last. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/3 "2021-04-28T20:14:06Z")
Isn’t success a status? Is the question what is success? Or is it what is most important in achieving the status of success? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/4 "2021-04-28T20:15:47Z")
Character, especially, wisdom. Wisdom - or the lack of it - is too often the make-or-break thing. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/5 "2021-04-28T20:25:09Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Isn’t success a status? Is the question what is success? Or is it what is most important in achieving the status of success? The question is what is most important to you in determining if you have achieved success. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/6 "2021-04-28T20:32:09Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > [@Omar\_Little](#): > > > > Status - 45.9% > > Yikes! I would have put that last. Really? One of the main external metrics for defining “success”? i don’t really see this in terms of “most important”. Success is largely measured by Status, Finance, and Work (assuming this means your career). Education, Relationships, Character, and possibly Work (as in how much effort) will determine success. Health and Quality of Life will also help drive Success, but Success should also help achieve better Health and Quality of Life. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/7 "2021-04-28T20:36:00Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Really? One of the main external metrics for defining “success”? Status means measuring success by how other people view you. That effectively puts other people in control of your personal self-worth. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/8 "2021-04-28T20:44:24Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Success should also help achieve better Health and Quality of Life. It’s a weird list but this was plus or minus my thought when I chose QOL as my metric. Success will enable you to have a high quality of life so if you have a high quality of life then there must be success behind you (even if it was your parents or grandparents). ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/9 "2021-04-29T17:26:07Z")
I’m confused by the question. I couldn’t tell if you meant “you, an individual” or “you, in general” and I answered for “you, in general.” I would choose character for myself. I view my failures as a direct result of my character flaws. Interestingly, I would choose finance for everybody else. Financial stability is a determining factor for how well off someone is generally, and how easily they can get ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/10 "2021-04-29T17:28:36Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > The question is what is most important to you in determining if you have achieved success. Oh, that’s a different thing altogether. It sounds like a way of asking, “What do you value most?” My answer is Relationships. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/11 "2021-05-02T01:14:21Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > [@msmith537](#): > > > > Really? One of the main external metrics for defining “success”? > > Status means measuring success by how other people view you. That effectively puts other people in control of your personal self-worth. Ah but is “self-worth” the same thing as “success” or “status”? One could be a successful corporate lawyer or investment banker, but ultimately not derive any satisfaction or sense of self-worth from it. One could also be an extremely successful teacher and derive a strong sense of self-worth from it, even though that profession doesn’t offer significant financial rewards. But I do think there does need to be some objective external definition and measurement of “success”. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/12 "2021-05-02T02:38:38Z")
None of the above. SECURITY is the correct choice. A position in which you can be fairly sure of a quality and comfortable lifestyle, with a safety net if things go wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/13 "2021-05-02T04:38:04Z")
Its difficult, I would pick either relationships or health. But relationships are more important. To me, character is a part of relationships. You aren’t going to have healthy, fulfilling relationships if you have a bad character. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/14 "2021-05-03T07:02:19Z")
To me only quality of life encapsulates the totality of what it means to be “successful” because I judge “success” on my own tems rather than having it imposed by others. Am I living the life that I choose and making the world better for others? I think so. That is what success means to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/15 "2021-05-03T07:49:05Z")
I feel that the question being asked is unclear between how I would _define_ success, versus how to _achieve_ success versus what I find most important in life. I know that the OP has tried to clarify that he means “define” but, the OP also includes things like “health” as an option. That’s just not the way we would usually use the word “success” even if health is the most important thing for many of us. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/16 "2021-05-03T07:49:32Z")
(accidental multi post) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-trait-or-characteristic-is-the-most-important-in-your-personal-definition-of-success/940978/17 "2021-05-03T13:44:50Z")
It seems the Gallup respondents find Herbert Spenser more agreeable than Charles Darwin.