“Liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it” is Mary Angelou defining term of success. I’ll define success as one with fulfilment of self-set standards that provides meaning in life, defined by your own terms.
When success is personalized it becomes a source of genuine fulfilment rather than public metrics.
The story that is formed with completed processes, the effort, the growth, the commitment and the fulfilment of living in alignment with your purpose are the true pieces of success.
The world may not cheer for these moments, and so we tend not to identify them as though they are success. We want the validation, spotlight that is often expected to stand with success.
Success after all is not always what we are told it is, I believe so. The elusive word has become a shifty character, moulded by expectations that often betray its essence.
while it is easy to believe the limiting narrative on success, as one with a certain shape, a certain stature and recognition that the world cannot ignore, that it must be loud accompanied by applause and external approval, success often comes in quiet forms uncelebrated, unpraised. In view of that, we question it and push it aside waiting for something bigger, something grander to prove our worth.
But there is danger believing that true success must meet these limiting narratives, because sometimes success is quiet for a reason. It’s for you and you alone, and that’s enough!
In this ever-changing world, perhaps, it’s time we reclaim success for what it truly is; not a race, not a show, but an unfolding and Becoming just as Michelle Obama.
So here I sit, acknowledging the quiet victories of my life, the unseen milestones that deserves as much praise and recognition as the larger ones. Because success, true success, is not always celebrated. It’s the one that fulfils our sense of purpose and sustains us in the silence when no one is looking.