What Is Success for You?

Determining a person's individual answer to the "what is success" question is crucial. Once you know your personal definition of success, then you can take the steps to be the best you can be. From this definition, you can set goals for yourself, think about how to incorporate success into your life, and understand if you are striving towards your own ideas of success or the definition someone else placed on you. The following are some things to consider when defining your personal ideas about success.

One of the first things to consider is where you would like to see yourself in 30 years. This can tell you a lot about the kind of life you would like to lead and the kinds of things you would like to one day do. From here, you can make both short- and long-term goals about life.

Next, think about the things in your life that make you feel happy and fulfilled. Success is more than having a lot of money or looking young forever. Instead, you want to find a version of success that ensures you will enjoy waking up in the morning.

Another great way to define success is to think about the people in your life who you admire. If you find yourself jealous of your friends who travel the world, then you may want to incorporate travel into your picture of success. If you envy your friends who have families, this too may need to be a piece of your definition.

Always consider where your thoughts about success are coming from. Often, they are shaped by everything from one's religion and parents to the culture and society around them. Thus, when thinking about success, make sure the things you are striving towards are things you really want and not just things you are doing to please or impress other people. Ultimately, you have to live with yourself. You don't want to become a doctor only to realize you have no passion for medicine.