What is success and how do you measure it?

What makes a person successful? How do you even measure success? Is it by the amount of money in your bank account, how many cars you have, how many houses, the type of clothes you wear? You may have found yourself asking those questions, well you are not alone. Ever since I was a little girl, I would hear people say that all they want in life is to be successful. I never really knew what it meant, but I wanted to be successful too.

When I got to my late teens, I began to question what being successful really meant. The answers I got from my peers, the media and the adults around me were basically centered around getting a degree, getting a good job, having a lot of money in the bank etc. All of that is great but it does sound to me that everyone is chasing after the same thing, like they're using a one size fits all view to success. I personally don't agree with that, there is no true "one size fits all" for every situation and we know it. Someone will get left out and won't fit in because they're too skinny, too fat, too short, too this, too that. There are some tank tops and leggings that will say "free size" which is another way of saying one size fits all and yet there are many people that don't fit comfortably into them or they don't like the way it looks on them. Success is kind of like that too; not everyone will want to get a degree, or to work for someone and they can still be seen as successful too. This means that being successful can look different for different people and shouldn't be measured in a narrow-minded way.

Success has been defined as the achievement of desired visions and planned goals. With that being said, each person has to be clear about what their own goals are and the life they envision for themselves. When you have put in the work, achieved those goals and created the life you've envisioned despite the ups and downs, you have attained success. I've realized that there are many people who haven't defined what success looks like for themselves, what are their own desires, goals and plans. Instead, they have been chasing the world's, the media's and their parents' view of success, resulting in their feelings of emptiness or unhappiness. I found myself doing that too, I started university after a year-long debate with my father, then a very heated discussion with a manager at work over whether I should go to university or not. I wanted to go but I wanted to save for it instead of taking a loan, I wanted to go to Utech instead of Uwi but they thought I should start that year and I should go to Uwi and take a loan. The pressure was real and the admission deadline was fast approaching, actually I think it may have even passed, but I jumped to it. I got in and thought maybe it was a sign that I made the right decision. I do not regret going, neither do I doubt whether it was a good decision or not but what became evident to me a little later was that I didn't know what I wanted and I wasn't exactly searching for it either. Instead, I was looking at what everyone else was doing and what my parents wanted me to do. I will say that there is technically nothing wrong doing that especially if what they're doing and what they're suggesting you do is good but at what point are you going to stop and take a serious look at yourself; what do you want, where do you see yourself in the future? What is your definition of success??

The answer isn't going to fall into your lap after one night of thinking seriously about it, or maybe it will but it has taken some time for me and I still haven't figured it all out as yet. My advice on the matter is this; start thinking about what you desire and ask yourself what are the goals that you would like to achieve, what are you passionate about and what is going to get you to the place where you want to be financially? Do your research and observation, talk to the people who are experienced in your area of interest, watch videos and read books about it so you can get a feel of what needs to be done and what its like. When you get the information and figure out what you want, you have to do the work and remember that everyone's journey is different, your success will not come at the same time and in the same way that it did for your parents, friends or anyone else. Also, having more than one source of income is vital. So do something that makes money, something that you're good at and something that you're passionate about, this will contribute to your happiness and success. What is your definition of success, are you on your way to achieving it?

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