define (& redefine) success
How do you define success?
When you think of success, do you start seeing all kinds of riches, luxuries, and accomplishments starting to swirl around in your minds’ eye?
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For example, maybe you see a big, bright bookshelf laden with sparkling award trophies and tokens of accomplishment, standing tall and proud in a lavish study that’s adorned with prestigious certifications and degrees, demonstrating your notorious triumphs.
Or, when you close your eyes, maybe you see top-of-the-line private jets taking you all over the world on opulent, exclusive holiday experiences; from balmy, white sand beaches and ritzy cabanas, to regal rooftop penthouses, overlooking glamorous cityscapes, highlighting your abundant riches.
Perhaps, when you imagine yourself as a success, you see a life of your name in bright lights, having reached the tip-top of your pursuit; and all of the designer-brand clothing, exclusive champagne-filled social gatherings, and swanky, publicity-riddled events that come along with your lifestyle are all welcome additions to the level of achievement you’ve reached.
If any of these understandings of success resonate with what you can define success as- you’re not alone.
We all have a general understanding of what success means, and for most of us, we think of it and almost immediately jump to our most common understanding of what it means on the outside- that is, the tangible; what we can see, touch, and feel. What others can see, or touch, or feel.
But we must ask.. In regards to your personal, creative, and even professional life-
how satisfying of a definition is this definition of success?
How fulfilling, both right now, and in the long term, is having this weighted understanding of what it means to be successful?
Is success really & truly definable by what others see on the outside?
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Dunno- let’s ask the Stoics!
The Stoics taught pursuing a life of virtue, prioritizing courage, justice, temperance and wisdom as pinnacles of what it means to live a successful, meaningful life. Their inherent belief in reason emphasizes their focus being on what is in our control, not on what is out of it; and while fame, riches and notoriety may feel temporarily fulfilling and even satisfying, their effects are just that, temporary, and are not to be used as definitions of success. Stoicism teaches that rather than associating success with an external achievement, one should focus on the internal markers of success:
letting go of the outcome
live virtuously
-doing the right thing (even if it’s the hard thing)
-practicing moderation
-embracing a neutral perception of what’s happening outside of ourselves
-being brave in the face of fearembracing impermanence
What would happen if you could embrace what the Stoics impress about impermanence, accepting that what we know and believe to be successful now may change tomorrow?
What would it mean to be successful if that definition changes over time?
How is it that you have historically defined success, and just how flexible is your definition of it?
As creatives (and as people at large), enthusiastically accepting that what success means can not only change as you continue to grow, but can become internalized and freed from outside validation, is not only nourishing for your craft, but for your personal and professional life as well.
It is by allowing yourself to not only define, but redefine what success is and means as you learn more about yourself, as you embrace the values and virtues that mean something to you, and as you grow and evolve into the person you wish to become, that you are truly liberated by what you have always thought you had to achieve in order to be successful.
What would happen to your relationship with success if you could open yourself to redefining it in this way?
Maybe your understanding of success could become a quiet one. A personal one. One that you could hold near and dear to your heart, with which you could nourish, slowly but surely, on your own time. Maybe you’ll find, that success no longer needs to fit the unrealistic expectations you have placed on yourself for so long.
Instead, what it means to be successful could be to lift that heavy amount of weight in the gym that you never thought you could; or to help kickstart that food drive you’ve been meaning to volunteer for; or, heck, maybe it’s simply showing up for yourself each and every day to run that trail or write in your journal.
✨ Don’t be afraid to redefine success.
You may just find that you’re doing a lot better than you thought you’ve been all along. ✨
