Trap 4: The Metrics Of Success

Facilitate a Human Barometer activity where students indicate their perspective on the following statements:

• “Success is mainly about achieving good results, making money, or having good experiences.”
• “Most people my age feel pressure to “keep up” with others.”
• “People should be free to define success however they want.”
• “God offers a more meaningful way to define success than society does.”
• “Social media has made it harder to feel successful.”

(The Freedom Trap Slides)

Watch the “The Metrics of Success” clip and then participate in a class discussion. Depending on time and dynamic this could be a mix of whole-class and/or small group responses to the following questions.

• What are the healthiest measures of success?
• What are the most common ways success is measured in today’s world for young people?
• What do we lose when success is only measured by results or image?
• What’s the emotional or mental toll of constantly trying to “measure up”?

(The Freedom Trap Slides)

Display the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote and invite students to compose their own description of success.

(The Freedom Trap Slides)

Students complete a journal entry to write a reflection piece using the prompt: “I’m rethinking what success means to me because…”