Living in a world that is accustomed to measuring success according to its tangibility, can be really lame at times. Across our social platforms, in the news, at school and even in our places of employment, we have come to measure success by its size.
On one hand there’s nothing wrong with that. Of course we need to celebrate people who are doing great things, but often the little successes people achieve daily are ignored, pushed aside and classified as ‘not important’. I know many people, who have felt like failures more often than they should because of this. How you measure success is vital to the progress you will make in life.
I have found that my greatest successes happen when nobody is around to cheer me on. When I am able to show gratitude despite my circumstances, when I choose to hold onto hope in the midst of heartache and when I am able to maintain my character even in solitude. These are small victories that I have chosen to measure as great successes.
This is a simple exercise that started through setting my own measure of success. Without external influences, opinions or the ‘norm’. Some of your measurements may be personal and internal, that’s completely okay. It is often the small victories we achieve that set us up for bigger ones. Today, you may be celebrating the success of bravery, tomorrow you may move on to bigger, more tangible successes. In those moments, you will celebrate the little things that laid the foundation for where you were headed.
Make sure to always remember, you are the one who decides exactly what it means to be successful. Even when nobody is cheering you on, or handing you a trophy with your name on it.