We’re taught to chase it.
Work for it.
Sacrifice for it.
Center our lives around it.
Success.
A word that sounds like fulfillment but often ends in exhaustion.
Alan Watts—the British philosopher who merged Eastern thought with Western restlessness—once said:
“We are so anxious for success that we forget the real question: What would you do if money were no object?”
To Watts, the modern idea of “success” wasn’t just overrated.
It was dangerous.
Not because ambition is wrong.
But because the version we’ve been sold is a trap—an endless ladder with no top rung.
Why Chasing Success Often Leaves You Feeling Lost
What do most people mean when they say “success”?
More money.
More recognition.
More control.
More comfort.
But Alan Watts warned us: when we define success only in external terms, we create a life that’s built entirely outside ourselves.
“You’ll be on the treadmill forever—working for a reward that was never really yours.”
Think about it:
You get the job…
Then the raise…
Then the house…
Then the burnout…
And still—something’s missing.
We confuse achievement with peace.
Productivity with purpose.
Busyness with meaning.
And so we keep running.
The Problem With “Getting There”
Watts often said that life is not a journey with a finish line—it’s a dance.
Yet we treat it like a race:
- Get the degree
- Get the job
- Get the partner
- Get the house
- Get the promotion
- Get the retirement
- Then enjoy your life
But Watts argued that this mindset postpones happiness indefinitely.
It turns life into a checklist—and we forget to actually live any of it.
“If you’re always chasing what’s next, you’ll never appreciate what’s now.”
The Success Myth: You’ll Finally Be Happy “Once…”
We’ve been conditioned to believe that happiness is waiting for us on the other side of hard work.
But Watts challenged that idea at its core:
“Better to have a short life that is full of what you enjoy, than a long life spent in a miserable way.”
The point isn’t laziness.
It’s alignment.
Are you working toward something that nourishes you—or just checking boxes because society says you should?
The danger isn’t in success itself.
It’s in thinking success is the only measure of a meaningful life.
What Watts Believed We Should Pursue Instead
So if success is overrated, what should we be chasing?
Nothing.
Because the very act of chasing is the problem.
Watts believed in presence.
Joy.
Wonder.
Spontaneity.
Being.
Not endlessly striving.
Not constantly comparing.
Not becoming obsessed with productivity as identity.
“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
Redefining What “Success” Means—For You
Maybe success isn’t a number.
Or a title.
Or a lifestyle.
Maybe it’s:
- Feeling deeply connected to your days
- Loving what you do more than what it gets you
- Going to sleep with peace instead of pressure
- Being truly yourself in a world that rewards pretending
Alan Watts didn’t reject effort.
He rejected the kind of effort that comes from fear, not love.
From ego, not soul.
From scarcity, not wholeness.
You’re Not Failing—You’re Just Awakening
If you’re questioning the rat race…
If you’re tired of measuring your worth by what you’ve accomplished…
You’re not behind.
You’re waking up.
“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
— Alan Watts
You were never meant to spend your entire life trying to earn your right to rest.
You were meant to live now.
And that is the kind of success that never feels hollow.
How to Let Go of Toxic Success Pressure (and Still Build a Beautiful Life)
- Revisit your definition of success—who gave it to you?
- Ask: “If no one ever saw this, would I still do it?”
- Trade goals for experiences. Trade timelines for alignment.
- Reconnect with joy—not just progress.
- Start honoring presence over performance.
You don’t need to abandon all ambition.
You just need to stop abandoning yourself for it.
Chase the kind of success that feels like coming home to yourself—not like escaping your life.
Because the truth is, when you stop living for “someday,”
That’s when your real life begins.