SUCCESS Not A Mountain, but An Open Field | Yiran Han | TEDxRDFIS Youth

Yiran Han opens by describing how growing up in a competition-obsessed society led her to internalize a narrow definition of success: good grades, teacher approval, and parental pride. She uses the metaphor of climbing a mountain—one peak, one path, no time to pause—to capture how this mindset felt. Despite achieving a rank of 20th in her final exams, she found herself sitting alone at her desk feeling empty and confused, questioning whether she truly wanted what she had been chasing.

Her perspective began to shift through two small, ordinary moments. The first occurred during a summer study break when, on impulse, she started recreating a favorite song using a music mixing app. Over three hours, she meticulously layered instruments and eventually added the sound of water dripping, which transformed the 20-second melody into something deeply satisfying. She received no grade, award, or praise for it, yet described the joy as greater than anything an exam result had ever given her. This moment, she says, was the first time she heard her own voice clearly.

The second moment came during finals week, when her head teacher unexpectedly pushed the class outside to the playground. Initially met with complaints about wasted time, the break led to laughter, basketball, and genuine relaxation. That evening, the classroom atmosphere had shifted—students were still studying, but more calmly and authentically. Yiran realized the break had pulled her back from 'blind evolution,' allowing her to study for herself rather than to beat others.

From these two experiences, she develops her central metaphor: success is not a mountain with one peak and a few narrow paths, but an open field where everyone can choose their own direction at their own pace. She argues that breaking free from the rat race is not about avoiding competition, but about making one's own inner voice louder than external noise. She closes by inviting the audience to ask themselves, without judgment or pressure, what they most want to do—framing that honest answer as their 'true north' into their own vast field.