What is success and how do you measure it? It’s something that I have thought about for a long time and realized the older I get, the more my definition of success changes and how I measure it. I always thought success could be labeled by a number, by an achievement, by an extravagant monetary value, by people validating my accomplishments, and I quickly realized that only felt like a superficial definition of success. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the finer things in life and have an appreciation for them as most people do; however, I felt as though there had to be more to success.
I think of success with a different perspective and focus on learning who I am and growing as a person. Growth and personal evolution are two things that I value more than almost anything else in my life because they help me realize things that I’ve never noticed before about myself. For example, I always saw failure as the worst thing that could ever happened to me and it came from my background of being a perfectionist. I had to learn that, without failure, I wouldn’t be able to see things with a different perspective which would help me grow and evolve as a person. I started seeing failure as more of a gift than anything else and that, to me, is a success. I had to learn that everyone’s vision, interpretation, and perspective of what success means to them is completely subjective.
Society and Success
My idea of success changed throughout my life due to it becoming glamorized by society. I started having doubts as to whether my view of success was valid. Many of the images on various social media platforms ranging from people having stacks of money, luxury lifestyles, celebrity friends, and little stress, has really influenced how we see success and what it “should be.” If we don't live those types of lives, are we still considered successful? Some people may not think so, but that's where perspective comes into play.
Many people have become impatient and want to have success without going through the difficult times. There are numerous examples of people that had to overcome many different hardships in their lives to reach the point of success they’re at, but outsiders will only see the finished version and expect the same results. The idea of overnight success has become rampant because that’s what it looks like on social media. Unfortunately, it’s not usually achievable without facing obstacles. I can attest to that fact because I lost 83 pounds and it was not an overnight success for me. It took over three years to lose the weight and I faced many obstacles throughout the journey.
Success and Failure
When I think of success, I think of failure. The likelihood of achieving success without any type of failure is slim. Honestly, that is not something I would’ve ever thought in the past as I was incredibly afraid of failure and what everyone else would think of me. My perspective has changed and it has enabled me to redefine success. I realize that my limiting belief of only being successful without failure was truly holding me back in many areas of my life.
I like to reevaluate my vision of success on a yearly basis as a way to determine if I'm on the right track and make changes if I think it's necessary. I plan my goals for the year on a micro level to reach the macro level which results in achieving success. If this concept seems foreign to you, allow me to explain. Micro successes are usually more short-term and could be as minor as making your bed in the morning before you start the day. Macro successes are considered long-term and might be something like becoming a millionaire within 10 years. The best way to achieve success in life is to create goals and stick with a plan.
Questions to Really Think About
How do you measure success? What does success mean to you? What comes to mind when you think of success? Do you think of success as making the most money, having the most followers, being liked the most by society, or do you have a completely different opinion and see it on a smaller scale? No matter how you respond to these questions, the answers will be right to you.
