Success Criteria

I grew up in middle class India. I was taught in very many subtle and overt ways that I needed to be able to financially support myself, and if needed, my family. I was encouraged to have hobbies that did not make money - but opting for theater or music or sport as a profession would have been discouraged. I was also taught to measure myself towards these goals. We had marks, ranks, admissions, grades and ratings in almost every facet of our lives. 


As a professional, I believe strongly in metrics. I am always coming up with metrics to measure and understand where I need to pay more attention.


It is natural for people like me to try to measure our success as a parent. Here in lies the problem. How do you measure your success as a parent? 


For me, the measure will be whether I have given my kids the tools to think clearly and deeply, live happily, and believe in the inherent goodness of people, while being able to traverse through follies of friends and foes. What is your measure? Do you think it is wrong to link your success as a parent to your child?