Revisiting The Idea of Success
In case nobody told you: You are free to write your own definition of success.
In my journey of progressing through life, several people have told me to look up to person X or learn as much as I can from persons A, B, C and D. I believe in the idea of having role models. But I also know there’s only so much we can learn from someone else’s story. That’s why I always value finding people in my life whom I trust enough to guide me towards the right path, still knowing that my experiences will be my own.
In life, we desire ease - the ease of someone telling us what exactly to do to be successful, the ease of following someone else’s path so that we can blame them later as an excuse if things don’t work out. Almost everyone who has only listened to what others have to say and never considered what they want expresses regret for not living an extraordinary life.
Nothing in life will ever make complete sense unless you delve into yourself and figure out what you feel about your journey in every aspect of your life. You will always feel like you’re not doing enough, even when you are ‘conventionally’ making progress. If you stop and reflect on how much you align with your life in aspects like your environment, career, lifestyle, and relationships, you will find an opportunity to fix where you’re going wrong before it’s too late.
Many people believe there can be only one recipe for success: the one created by someone else. But the truth is, your idea of success is probably different from the role models you look up to, even the ones on the same career path as you but ahead. Someone else may desire money. But you may want money as well as mental peace, and that’s okay.
You are a pioneer who has the power to define what success means to you and create your own path that leads you to it. Permit yourself to make mistakes. Permit yourself to seek advice. But always remember that you are not allowed to leave yourself behind while blindly chasing someone else’s experiences, thinking that there’s a higher chance that you’ll end up achieving success that way.
THIS WEEK’s RECOMMENDATIONS
There was much variety in what I read last week. The ones that left a mark on me are linked below.
If you enjoy reading Unwind, I would love it if you consider recommending the publication to your readers. Simply go to your dashboard > Recommendations > Manage > Add recommendation > Unwind.
Thank you for the mention 😌 and thank you for writing this ... As always so inspiring ... Your words really do hit me so deeply ❤️
Our definition of success makes or breaks the fulfilment we get from life. If it’s unrealistic and depends on the validation of others, then it is a poor one and will lead to an unfulfilling life. But if it is largely dependent on our internal input then it becomes more likely that we will achieve it and be fulfilled, as much as one can be, with our life.