Random Rambles- Success

What is success?

This question was posed in one of my final college classes a few weeks ago and it amazed me at the many different viewpoints with which people measure success by. 

For some, success means having all the money in the world and doing whatever the hell they want.

For others, it’s rising to the top of their career, or starting a family.

For me….for me, success is being happy in whatever I do. I could be the richest person in the world and if I wasn’t happy, I would feel like a success. To me, while money is extremely important and I’m no naive enough anymore to believe you can get on okay without it, I still don’t believe money is everything.

Success is relative. 

In its simplest form, it still means something completely different to the person sitting next to you than it does to yourself.

And that’s OKAY!

You can’t and shouldn’t measure your success against the success of others. That’s not fair to you. Measure your success by what YOU and YOU alone feel success is. 

I just finished my final college class. 

That’s it.

I’m done.

I now have a BSBA in Accounting.

And I’m ecstatic.

I’m HAPPY.

So to me, I have succeeded. 

I’ve spent all day long today looking up recipes to cook for my boyfriend when he gets home from work, and watching food network, and just RELAXING. 

I couldn’t be happier. 

This is how I measure my success.

Does it mean that I’m going to stop where I am at?

Hell no.

I’m going to pursue my dream of becoming a published author, and even if that never happens as long as I’m happy doing it, I am content. I’m going to pursue my CA CPA license because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I want to live my life the way I have been, the way that makes me happy, with a man who loves me, a family who loves me, with my heart and arms open to all of them. I want a family one day, not yet (I’m still only 21.)

I have a lot of goals, but I don’t measure my success by completing those goals just because I completed them, but because they made me happy. I set the goals by asking myself if pursuing it will make me happy no matter the outcome.

What is success to you?

Curious minds want to know.