What Exactly Is Success...

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Success is defined in a really strange way. It’s something that is extremely personal that carries intrinsic value, yet we define it with outside forces.

How much money we have, what kind of job we have, what grades we have. Success isn’t defined with how we fell about ourselves, but what the things/accomplishments we have acquired, tell about us.

Success isn’t money or things, it’s improvement.

I’ve accomplished a good amount in my life, but I know I raise the bar to success so high I never let myself really FEEL successful.

I told one of my friends once that sometimes I forget I won state, and she just stared at me dumbfounded and asked, “how could you ever forget that?” Even when I won state I didn’t feel all that successful. It was more relief, that I was actually able to do it, then outright happiness.

Now don’t get me wrong, I loved those 3 months after the win leading into my first year of college. Some of the best times of my life. It was amazing the week right after I won, I experiences a lot of kindness from a lot of different avenues. But after state it became a question to me, can I duplicate this in college.

While I was doing well, in my eyes success now became if the results would follow into next year. And I think that’s a terrible way to think.

We need grades and benchmarks as a form of comparison. So we can look at a large group and see how they stake up amongst themselves, however I do think those things hinder us. Now I’m not saying everyone gets an A or a participation trophy, because that still is an external validator.

I think that somehow we need to create a system so success is based within the person. It’s based in what they’ve accomplished, their improvements in their own lives, contextualized only to themselves.

I sometimes think I haven’t done enough, but in hindsight I’m only 18. If I’m accomplishing more and learning more than I did a week, month, or year ago, then that in itself is a success; that is improvement.

This all comes back to my idea of consciousness. We need to make a conscious effort to recode the way we view accomplishments and success, because the old ways based on others. Success should only be based on being better that what YOU once were.