How Do You Define Success?

I continue exploring with a lot of interest the topic of expectations. I have slowly discovered freedom from understanding what I am truly looking for, and I want to share that with you.

Just recently I was having a chat with some ladies and we started sharing about our disappointments in ourselves. I’ve come to realize that disappointments are a thermometer for what you think should have happened. Now, based on a previous post, I am going to ask you to take some time to meditate on yourself. It can be scary to face our reality, but it is very freeing.

Ask yourself: what is success to me? Is it a house with a white-picket fence? Or is it the leadership of a company? Does it entail others? Take your time, because what you define as success is at the root of what is truly important to you.

I’ve asked myself this question before, and the older I get, the more it changes. I am ambitious and simplistic at the same time. I want to accomplish certain things without compromising my free time. Lately, I have recognized the value of hard work and how if I compartmentalize it, I can enjoy my time off more. I do want to advance in my career and do great things for the company I work for, but there are other things that I value more.

Creating a resourceful platform that people around the world use to help them become more like their ideal self is success to me. Developing into a better person so I can help those around me develop is my calling. I want to learn and keep learning in order to improve my community. This one dream covers all my life. It involves being a good professional, a present mother, a loving wife, and a dedicated believer in God. It means that each day, I will aim to be more connected with my surroundings, preparing for what is to come and being in tune with what is needed.

My ideal self will always be a work in progress. Because my goals are not to accomplish a number or a title, I will always be in the move. The nature of my passion is precisely that! There is always room for improvement and the main purpose is to keep moving forward. Learning is a life-long endeavor.

Having that dream doesn’t exclude having others, but it puts those into perspective. Am I willing to give up what I have today for it? Am I willing to face others’ approval or disapproval? Start from the bottom, work crazy hours, invest in training, and give up fun for work? Yes. I am working on ramping up my time focused on my dream to make it part of my every day so I can continue moving forward.

Once you have your definition of success, ask yourself why. Success will only make you happy when it is truly what your heart hungers for. Family, society, need, etc., can crowd your definition without you even noticing it. Embrace your real dream of success and take a few minutes each day to get closer to it.

If you’d like to, please share your thoughts! It would be amazing to learn what makes the heart of others beat fast.