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I agree with what you said about success and how it really depends on the individual's' idea of success but, Do you think people could be embarrassed about their ideas of success when they look at society's idea of success?

sincerely,
Melody

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What is your personal success? Is society's definition important? Can someone be unhappy and yet be successful?

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I agree with what you wrote, but what is your opinion personally on what it means...not just the short definition.

sincerely,
Alec

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What does it mean to be successful?

Success is an awkward thing, for people like to throw it in people's faces. Jealousy is her enemy, of course, the deranged half-sister who never got her crown. But if you do not doubt your own success, she will never come into power. For success is an individual thing, a self-thing, a thing that is made by being at peace with oneself. Whatever it is for you, it should give you self-peace.

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I agree with what you wrote, but what if I wanted to set one big goal, and then accomplished that, would that not be success because I didn't set smaller goals first?

Sincerely,
Alan

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Do you think solitude (spending time alone) is important?
I personally think that people may be very outgoing and social we all need/ want some time alone; just to think or just to get away from drama or stress. I know some people might have a fear or feel uncomfortable being alone and like to talk with friends can lead them to depend on people more for help or comfort.
I am more of a independent person and I sometimes like to be alone just to read or think about situations. Solitude for me helps me really calm myself and makes me feel happy; for example I'd rather do a puzzle then go to the mall with friends if I really want to just get away from the stresses of life.

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What does it mean to be successful?
I think success is measured by the individual.  If someone sees success as having a family and they do that, they are successful.  If someone sees success as becoming famous and they do that, they are successful.  However, not achieving your goals does not make you unsuccessful.  You may be trying to succeed in some way and fail, succeeding in another.
Response to Alan:
I agree with your idea of success, I think it's to each his own.

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Q: What does it mean to be a "noncomformist"?
A: To be a nonconformist is to be unique and different from the norms of society.

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What is happiness and what is the degree of importance in one's life?

Happiness is probably one of the most important things in life, at least to me. I'd rather be happy a majority of the time than sad, or angry. What is the point of living if you aren't happy most of the time? It's healthy to be happy, so it should be one of your top priorities to do the things that make you happy.

However, without experiencing sadness or stress, we wouldn't know the importance of happiness, and we wouldn't appreciate things as much. So the bad emotions are just as important as the good ones.

Response to Mia
Same question
I think your answer to the question was very thought out. You took your own experiences to back up your argument, that the idea of achieving happiness in life is rather unrealistic, and I understand where you're coming from. The idea of being content in a moment, is more realistic because you can't be happy all the time. You're really good at putting your thoughts into words.

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Q - What does it mean to be successful?

A - I believe being successful in life means fulfilling your goals and aspirations. reaching goals set throughout your life gives you a sense of pride and joy. attaining these goals gives you something to look forward to as well as others giving you opportunity to reflect.

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Q: What does it mean to 'be successful'?
A: I think being successful means that you have achieved something you were working towards, and now you are happy with where you are in the world, and what you are doing. And you are good at whatever you are successful at. I don't think other people can tell you whether or not you are successful, I think it is something you know in your heart. It is when you set a goal and achieve it, on your own.

Response to Isabel: I also think solitude can be crucial, as long it is in moderation. I also think it depends on the person, as some people really like to be alone, even most of the time, but some people don't like to be alone at all. Though I think everyone could use some alone time, I myself think it is good to spend most of your life in social situations, I think it is beneficial to take a little break, especially to go outside, so you can touch back in to who you are, which is better outside because the outdoors give you better perspective by making you feel smaller.

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whats nonconformist?

its people who go along with what other people think.

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Do you think solitude (spending time alone) is important?

I think alone time is super important, because it's the best time to relax, and get things done. You don't have to worry about other people, or your surroundings. It's always important to collect yourself, and to take the time to just chill out and be by yourself.

Solitude is a good time to think, and to sort out feelings and emotions. It's a time to just de-stress, and that is important in order to maintain happiness.

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Is being a nonconformist a good thing or a bad thing?
I think being a nonconformist can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the person and how they feel but from my personal experiences I find that it can be a good thing. Sure you may feel left out but you feel that you don't have to change who you are to fit in. Some may think you are weird but you could always just ignore their opinions and just be yourself.
Like everything there are negatives and positives to decisions and we have to live with the decisions we make. A negative to being a nonconformist is that you may not find a lot of people with the same opinion as you which may lead to feeling lonely but then you'll meet someone that shares the same opinion as you and you won't feel lonely anymore. Another positive of being a nonconformist is that you don't have the same opinions as others because not all people think and feel that same way about situations it just proves how we all are different.

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What does it mean to be successful? To be successful you first have to set a main goal and a few small ones (milestones) that you need to achieve to be able to achieve the main goal. You need to keep trying to meet your goals, and when you finally get one of the milestones it'll give you the taste of success to make you keep pushing for more, until you finally get to where you wanted to be, then you can be successful.

who is responsible for  your success?
There can be many people that helped you be successful but the person who mostly lead you there is you. Even if you had the best person at that subject in the world teach you it, they might of helped you be successful and taught you the right way or you had very supporting friends/family/teammates that helped you get to who are, none of them are responsible for your success, you are.

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What does it mean to be successful? Being successful is accomplishing something that you have set your mind to. Living a life of happiness and the gratitude of achievement. Being successful can range anywhere from working hard and making a good life for yourself or creating something new, any achievement can be considered a success.

Do you think solitude is important? I would have to say that being alone is important in the sense that you are given time to think. When you are around people, you generally don't have time to sit down and think deeply about certain topics. Sometimes you can have too much of one person and want to be alone, but too much alone time could drive a person insane.

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What is happiness and what is the degree of importance in one's life?

In my opinion I believe happiness is when one feels complete and content with their life. They feel comfortable with who they are and have accepted the problems they face. Happiness doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you feel content with your life, you have accepted all thats bad and you can look past it with positive energy. Being happy shouldn't be determined by other people. It is solely on where you are in your life and if you are comfortable with yourself. Happiness is in my opinion the most important feeling a person can have.

Do you think solitude is important?

I think solitude is very important for someone. Everyone needs some space on their own to think things through and realize what you want to do in your life. Being alone is important for your health at times because you get away from all of the negativity or social norms we have. Solitude is a way of independence. You can be yourself and do what makes you happy. Being alone helps you understand yourself better. Without alone time we wouldn't have different opinions on things or have diversity in our community.

Response- Bryson Richards

I agree with Bryson on what it means to be successful. It is all personal, being successful can be a variety of different scenarios on what is perceived as successful.

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What is happiness and what is the degree of importance in one's life?

This one is a question which has been severely debated over many, many years of history. In my opinion, there is a sincere difference between happiness and contentedness. For, personally, I have found that "happiness" as a concept is quite a ridiculous one, and honestly impossible at that.

"I just want to be happy" he said to me. "I just want you to be happy, too" he said. "What does that mean?" I said. He could not reply. This is the principal on which I build my argument. To be happy in a moment, in a day, in a lifetime is impossible. It is what so many strive for but it is not what any reach, as there will always be bad things, there will always be different things, unknown things, things that get in the way. "Bliss" is entirely ignorant, and no one can be so ignorant as to be happy, I think. There is excitement, oh yes. There is nervousness and anger. There is contentedness- the art of being less concerned with what is wrong, the art of being at peace with the world or your lover or something else entirely. There is not a happiness, as there is no place to escape where all things are good.

Happiness in itself defeats it's own idea. For if one could be happy, it would be suggesting that all bad things were lost, and therefore no evil would remain to contrast with the good, and "good" would be regular, not "good" at all. "Everything appears to us in faces. And what's more, I find no face alluring" Picasso said confidently. And what does this mean, you may wonder. I interpret it to tell me that all things are the same, for they all hold good and evil, so if you view things outside of the biased lens of romance and appeal, you will find that nothing is purely something, so no one can find pure happiness.

So what kind of a role does happiness play in our lives? Indeed, a large one, for though it isn't real to me, it may be real to another. Though it isn't real to me, many strive to find it. And if they spend so long striving. . . what time remains for the juicy stuff they may discover at the end?

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Q: What is happiness and what is the degree of importance in one's life?
A: Happiness is when you're emotionally or physically happy and feel positive and pleasant. So that plays a large degree of importance in life because without being happy you can miss out on experiences and opportunities that may not be great now but in the future could be so you need positive thinking to grow and succeed.

Q: Who is responsible for your success?
A: You personally are responsible for your own success and it all comes from your work ethic and the risks you are willing to take sometimes may put you forward or push you back

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Q- What does it mean to be successful?
R- To be successful you have to be able to think critically and deflect criticism that comes your way. I dont feel as though one can possibly be "successful" because it is a task that may differ in difficulty from person to person. For someone that is born with little belongings, and has risen to become one that is respected among others may be a form of success for that person. Whereas someone that was raised with nurture and everything that they could possibly want to grow up and become a muti millionaire, is also within the realm of success. What I find the most impressive in life, is one's ability to grow at such an alarming rate, that they have pushed past diversity, and moved from a hopeless feeling, to a feeling of utter joy and prosperity. One's level of success is not measured by his physical accomplishments, but determined by his mental ability to absorb feedback and be resiliant.
Response to Ben Browning: l

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Q: Do you think solitude is important?
A: Yes, I think solitude is important for human beings because it allows us to spend time to find ourselves without the presence of others. Whether we realize it or not, our everyday actions and personalities are influenced by those we surround ourselves with. So if we take the time to separate ourselves from the world, we can learn to be ourselves once again before we head back into the world of society. Sometimes we might have to find solitude again to regain our true selves, sometimes we don't. It all depends on how we view our life and what we choose to do with our lives. In the end it all falls back to the origin, the human being. We choose our own path and our own way to live. To live our true selves, it is a choice we have to make to do so. For some, solitude might be the answer to help find your choice.

Q: What does it mean to be successful? Who is responsible for your success?
A: The fact that you have striven to achieve your goal and have accomplished it does not always mean you are successful. Another might say you were successful on something, but you might feel differently about it. The person who chooses your success is only yourself. Another person can say the success on the object, but only you can say you are successful about yourself.

Response to Ashton:
I totally agree with what you said about how happiness is important to our lives and how if we didn't have happiness , we could miss out on experiences that could help us in the future.

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Q: Is being a non-conformist a good or a bad thing?
A: I think being a non-conformist can be a good thing, but in some instances it can be a bad thing. Sometimes it's good to not conform, because then you are unique and you don't limit your creativity, but conforming to laws and rules that are placed for a reason is a good thing. Like, you shouldn't break laws, but you should be yourself and not anyone else.

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Do you think solitude is important?
I think solitude is important sometimes because if we were constantly around other people, we wouldn't have any time to think for ourselves. When you're alone, you have time to reflect on your life without the opinions of anyone else. You can be your truest self without worrying about being judged. You get to decide how you spend your time alone.

When you're alone, you can really reflect on what you want in your life and what makes you happiest. You can find hobbies or go discover new things without anyone stopping you or criticizing you.

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Do you think solitude (spending time alone) is important? Do you practice solitude?
I think that spending time alone is very important to one's physical and mental health and well being. Spending some down time for yourself can give you time to breathe. You can focus on yourself rather than worrying about other conflicts with others you may be dealing with.
You should choose something simple and relaxing in your down time because, depending on what you choose to do, it can either help you to unwind or can make you stress even more. Solitude should be your break from the stressfulness of the world that can impact how we function everyday.
To be honest, I don't really have time to 'practice' solitude. I do, however think it is something everyone should give themselves time for on a regular basis. Rather than 'practicing' solitude, I think that knowing you need some time to yourself and owning it is something important to accept and take charge of. Without solitude, some may not know how they are feeling or have brain room to think about important things in our own lives without other around.
How do you decide what is wrong or right? Bad or good?
I personally decide what is bad or good from growing up watching my two older brothers live and learn. Those lessons that I didn't pick up on, I learned the hard way and my parents taught me.
I think we all learn a lot about what is right or wrong, bad or good based on how our parents raise us and what we are present to as we grow up. When we start to go to school we see a lot of different behaviors and how some people deal with things differently than others. We see what we want to be like in the real world and what we don't want to be like and we all decide for ourselves what's right or wrong.
Response to: Hadarah:
I agree with you that happiness isn't something that we can fully achieve because happiness is a journey that can go up and down, not a destination. Once you become happy, you won't be able to just plato and stay happy for the rest of your life. Bad things happen.

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Do you think solitude is important?

I think that solitude is important in moderation. It is important to occasionally be by yourself, so that you can form your own thoughts and ideas, and figure out who you are by yourself.  The more you are surrounded by people, the easier it is to just conform and adopt their ideas, without questioning if you believe the same.  Solitude also allows you to think about what it is that you want in life, without being influenced by the opinions of others.  Sometimes you just need to take time to be by yourself and consider what is best for you. It also forces you to think on your own and fend for yourself, instead of relying on others as a crutch.

However, I also think that too much solitude is not good for a person.  People are meant to be together, we are not meant to be all by ourselves all of the time.  A sense of community and belonging is essential to our well being and happiness. Having other people to rely on and to take care of each other is part of who we are and makes life much easier and more enjoyable when you have people to share it with.

To what extent is community essential to happiness?

I think that community is very essential to happiness.  Usually, you have to be happy on your own before the community becomes a factor. You should be content with yourself and your life choices first and foremost, but having someone to share that contentment with, or in some cases having someone (or a community of people) to push you to find your happiness, is extremely important.  We are made to be with others, and sometimes we need other people to help us meet our goals and push us to be the best people we can be.

Response to Emily:
I agree that you should be both a conformist and a non conformist. It is very true that you need to be unique and not just follow the crowd, but there are instances where conforming is the appropriate and sometimes respectful thing to do.

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Q- What does it mean to be successful?
A- To be successful means to fulfill all of your lifetime goals. You have accomplished something you have been working for, for a long time. Maybe you haven't been working towards it for a long time, maybe it was just a short term goal to help you boost some confidence. Success is different for everyone. Everybody has their own sense of what it means to be successful. You've probably heard many different "success stories." They can be vastly different. You hear about a boy who grew up in a very rough neighborhood, where crime rate was extremely high and it was easy to get swallowed up in all of that, but he kept his mind in the right place and achieved his lifelong goal of playing in the NBA. For him, that could be a successful life. But, for someone else, maybe graduating high school is what they wanted to achieve so they believe they have been successful. As you can see, the idea for success is different in everyone.

Q- Who is responsible for your success?

A-  Once again, this question varies for everyone. Some people want to make it on their own and some people want to use other resources to help them achieve what they want to achieve. So I guess this question is really something you have to decide as an individual.

Response to Ben Browning....
Ben I agree with everything you say about solitude. I think having your own independent time is very important, mainly because like you said, it helps you understand who you are as a person.

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Do you think solitude is important?

I think that it is important because it's healthy to be alone sometimes. I think that being humans we generally want to be around other people all the time. So when we are around other people we put on our people face because when we are alone we are a different way with ourselves than we are with our friends.

Do you practice Solitude?

Being alone is good for you because it makes you think about thing that you don't want to think about when you are around other people. When you are alone you don't have distractions so you can focus on yourself, often we focus to much on other people's needs that we forget about our own.

Response to Alec
Alec I agree with you about setting a goal and milestones because those do mainly help you get to there

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Q: Do you think solitude is important?
A: I think that spending time alone is important because it gives you time to do something that you enjoy. It also creates a way for you to be able to think and not have someone telling you what to think.
Q: What does it mean to be a "nonconformist?" Is being a nonconformist a good or bad thing?
A: I think being a nonconformist can be both bad and good. In some situations everyone around them might be doing something but for themselves they choose to not conform to what is going on around them. I think it can also be bad because there are certain things that people do to benefit themselves, and if they don't it can change a lot to a certain degree.

Response: Isabel: I totally agree with your last statement about being alone too much isn't good. I know for myself I am able to be myself around my close friends, but there are sometimes that in some situations you need to be by yourself to sort everything out.

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What is happiness and what is the degree of importance in one's life? Happiness isn't something anybody can ever fully achieve. We can all feel happiness in waves, but in life, bad things will always happen that will bring you down. You can be content with life, but not fully happy.