THE MYTH OF OVERNIGHT SUCCESS IS COSTING YOUNG PEOPLE THEIR PEACE AND PURPOSE.
By Philip Janet Kavutha
We exist in the era of the speed culture fast food, instant messaging, and delivery overnight, viral fame. The concept of overnight success is now among the most appealing deceptions packaged to the youth in this culture of instant success. This is all we can see, we see people everywhere
blowing up overnight: a TikTok creator who has gone from anonymity to fame in a week, a 19- year-old who is a millionaire thanks to his start-up, a musician goes viral and lands a record deal the next morning. Behind these glittering headlines, though, is a perilous myth, one that is distorting of the expectations, arousing anxiety, and not telling the youth that they must have made it by the age of 25 or they have somehow failed in life.
The reality is much more mundane. The majority of the success stories we love to read are edited, cropped and filtered to the point that they lose all the years of hard work. It is not the history but the highlight that we see. The youths in the current generation have been under a lot of pressure to copy these instant wins without realizing that a lot of such overnight success took years, or even decades, of silent work, rejection, and unrecognized struggle. The patience goes away with the process that is covered up.
This myth has produced a poison norm. A student, who is at 22 years, still trying to figure out her way feels incomplete because a person of her age has just bought an apartment by inventing content. A young athlete does not feel better about himself since his career has not gone the same
way as the teen prodigies online. A small business owner believes that he/she is a failure because his work did not go viral. Rather than rejoicing in growth, individuals relocate themselves to be made aware of the fact that they are not exceptional quick enough.
What is more poisonous about this story is the manner in which it misleads our perception of mission and persistence. It becomes a competition rather than an adventure. Talent is competition rather than an art. The stresses of success immediately kill the fun of learning, getting better, failing and trying. It drives the youth into burnout even before they even get to make anything meaningful.
Roman stoic philosopher Seneca, in his writing On the Shortness of Life stated, “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.” This quote holds that with time, when it is used adequately and consciously, time is sufficient to do the most significant things. Ironically,
this waste is promoted by the myth of overnight success which makes the young people hurry to unrealistic goals rather than follow slow, consistent development. Even the Scripture warns us against hating small beginnings. Zechariah 4:10 says and I quote, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…” This verse slices through the pressure of the modern times with an old-time wisdom, greatness may
begin with little ado. It is progress that is more important than speed. Unless we trained young people to appreciate the process rather than the product we would end up having a generation that is strong, stable, and full of satisfaction rather than nervous, in a hurry and exhausted.
Fleece the dream of immediate success. Worst days, the dull days, the invisible labour, celebrate. Honor your pace. Build your skills. Failure be a lesson, not a lifetime. You should not be comparing your life to that of someone on highlight reel. The point is that you have to start, and you should continue. The reason is as simple as that; overnight success does not exist-but long-term success does. And it's worth the wait.
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