What does it mean? Success? Successful in what, I would like to ask. Life, love, happiness, career?! There are alternative forms of success and differing measurements of success, and I feel one person’s success will be entirely different to the next persons. But who decides? Whether you’re successful or not? And who sets the boundaries for success vs. not quite reaching success? Is there a line you have to cross in order to be deemed successful?

I guess success must be in the eye of the beholder. And depends on their own interpretation of what success actually means. To describe someone as successful; are we commenting on how we perceive them, or on how they would perceive themselves? If we think someone is successful, do they feel the same way about themselves?

Success is different for everyone and the measurement to the peak of success is a scale created by each and every individual. One person’s supposed success could be the starting point of someone else’s journey to even higher reaches. Whilst the success of one could be seen as the absolute peak, perhaps for another, it is the point where they are just getting started.

And thus, the point of these rhetorical musings is this: your success and their success are two entirely unique perspectives. Do not compare your success, or your journey to success, against that of another’s. Set your own goals, your own targets and lay out the stepping stones for how you will succeed in those goals. And when you reach those targets, then you can name yourself successful. But your journey will never be the same as another’s, and their measurement of success will never been the same as yours. So do not compare, and do not try to travel along their journey. Your path is your own and it is the only path that could lead to your success; your own perception, measurement and interpretation of success.

Too many people live in the shadows of others, and get drowned by this enormous weight of what it takes to be a success. And that in itself becomes a burden and a set back. Your success should only rely on what you aim to achieve and the steps you take to accomplish that. Stick to your own plan, your own journey and your own goals, regardless of how big or small those goals may be.

You have the ability to be successful in anything you set your mind to. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.