This is the standard definition of Success (noun)

• The achievement of something planned, desired or attempted

• The gaining of fame or prosperity

The above definition has somewhat always bothered me, especially the second one. When did society decide that gaining fame or prosperity was a measure of how successful you are in life?

There are so many facets to life, why should becoming famous or wealthy be two of the most used ideas or frameworks of being successful? I find this insulting to many people who do not covet fame or fortune and choose to live a balanced, enjoyable, humble life - out of the spotlight.

It brings me back to a well-known old concept “Keeping up with the Joneses”. Unfortunately in today’s age of social media and the constant comparison of people’s highlight reel, I think many people are getting very out of touch with what they are successful at in their own lives.

This also brings me to a contentious issue of schooling today. What are our children being taught that will help them to succeed in life and live a well rounded existence once they leave the schooling institutions? Personally I have used very little in my adult life and career that I was taught at school (I’m excluding my University degree here).

There is a fundamental problem (in my opinion) of chaining your degree of success to an amount of money or a how many followers you have on social media, many of whom you won’t meet in real life and who you won’t recognize if you were both in the same queue of the grocery store?

Personally I know of many wealthy and famous people who gained their fame through nefarious means, I would not personally call them successful.

I suppose success is different for each person and depends on their upbringing, their circumstances and their outlook on life. For me, being successful consists of a list of qualities that are not based on money, the size of your house, the make of your car or how well known you are in the world. I think that with everything currently happening in the world, more and more people are starting to not only redefine themselves, but also re-writing the old-fashioned ideas we’ve been fed.

So while people around me might still think of me as “unsuccessful” based purely on the second definition of the word, I’m choosing to redefine success based on my own interpretations, my own life experiences and my own world view. Perhaps self-esteem and confidence the world over would increase if we all did this and would lead to more compassion with how we treat each other.

Thanks for reading, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.