How do you define success in life?
How do I define success in life?
That’s an interesting question, isn’t it? And one I’ve been pondering over a little.
For a long time, I think we’re encouraged to measure success by things we can count.
The size of the house. The money in the bank. The job title, the holidays, the number of people who know our name.
And there’s nothing wrong with enjoying those things. I’m rather fond of a lovely holiday myself, darling!
But I don’t think they tell us whether somebody has lived a successful life.
Because what happens when the job title disappears? When the house gets smaller, the money becomes tighter, or the applause eventually fades?
Have we suddenly become less successful?
I don’t think so.
For me, success is something a little more personal.
It’s being able to look at the person you’ve become and feel comfortable with them.
It’s having people in your life who know the real you, not simply the version you present to the world.
It’s being able to admit when you’ve made a mistake, apologise when you’ve hurt somebody, and still have enough curiosity to learn something new tomorrow.
It’s finding something that makes you happy and allowing yourself to enjoy it, even if nobody else quite understands the attraction.
And it’s about the people we encounter along the way.
Did we make somebody feel welcome? Did we offer a hand when one was needed? Did we encourage somebody who was standing nervously at the edge of the room?
Sometimes the smallest things leave the biggest impressions.
I’ve met people with very little in the way of material possessions who seem to have an extraordinary richness in their lives. And I’ve met people surrounded by everything money can buy who still seem to be searching for something.
Perhaps that’s because success isn’t a destination we eventually arrive at.
It’s something we build through the choices we make, the relationships we nurture, and the way we treat people when there’s nothing to be gained from doing so.
I don’t expect to get everything right. Goodness knows, that would be an ambitious project!
I still have things to learn, places to visit, music to dance to and probably a few questionable decisions left to make.
But if I can keep growing without losing myself, surround myself with people who bring out the best in me, and leave a few places a little warmer than I found them, I’ll consider myself rather fortunate.
And when the time comes to look back, I hope I won’t be counting how many people knew my name.
I’d much rather remember how many people were glad they knew me.
Perhaps that’s my definition of success, darling. A life that feels good to live, not just one that looks good from the outside.
Stay Fabulous,
Luce 💋
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