You Define Success, Not Others

Success is not so easily defined. That’s because it’s not stagnant. Nor is it some final destination or ultimate accomplishment where we sit looking fondly down at our piles of gold.  

Success is fluid. It often changes with the wind. One day we can be on top. Feeling all high and mighty. With people reading our blogs with bated breath. Following us around hoping for some crumbs of wisdom to arise out of our social networks. Then, one bad tweet away, we fall on the scrapheap of other fallen icons of success.

No, in the end, it is you alone who must define your own success.

Remember where you live

You Define Success

Today, we live in a fast-paced connected society that seems to equate success with getting ahead, gaining attention, making money, expanding popularity or even owning more stuff than everyone else. But success can only be determined by the individual. What’s success to one could mean failure to another. So, to be successful, we must identify what success means to us. We are the only ones who can answer the question.

This means we must decide what it takes to determine ourselves successful. I find success every time I reach a milestone, I set for myself. To some it could be living a lifelong dream, receiving a promotion, completing a PhD, or saving enough money to maintain a certain lifestyle after retirement.

In the end, success can only be determined by the goals, desires and actions we ourselves take. It is we who define our own success, not others.

This means resisting the pressures of popular culture or those nagging friends trying to push us into their own preconceived ideals. Finally, success is something we find from within. It’s the ability to set a goal and then reach it. To be confident in our abilities and talents to get us where we want to go. To find the strength we need to reach our dreams or learn the things we need along the way.

You Define Success

It is estimated that only 5 to 10% of the population takes time to set goals, let alone write them down. To me, this is truly a sad thing. Benjamin Mays, minister and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., summarized the importance of setting goals succinctly when he said, “The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.”

To me, reaching goals we set for ourselves is the easiest way to become successful. Not only does it help us feel accomplishment. But it’s a good motivator to continue moving forward. Lou Holtz, one of the greatest college football coaches of all time stated, “If you’re bored with life. If you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things, you don’t have enough goals.”

Think about it. Success must be determined by something. And its impossible to live up to other’s expectations. We must live up to our own expectations. Which would be a great way to define success.

In the end, success can only be defined by you. So, why not start today and decide what you need to do to find success on your own. Whether it be by setting goals, fulfilling a lifelong dream, meeting your own expectations, reaching financial independence or raising a family. You must decide and define your own success.