What do you define as success?

I always thought of success as accomplishing something I wanted to do, it brought pride, recognition, and reward. But where was I headed? Was I actually moving toward the life I wanted to live? The answer was no.

Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming. - John Wooden

That's a lot to take in, so let's break it down and consider it by part. Success is peace of mind, that's the destination - who wouldn't want that? After all, the opposite of peace of mind is stress, worry, fear, all of these negative emotions what we absolutely wouldn't associate with success. Peace of mind is tranquil, comforting, warm, it's about being at ease with yourself. John goes on to say this is derived from self-satisfaction in knowing that, essentially, we're trying our best. But that's not all, it's that we're striving to be the best that we are capable of becoming which is a much more empowering phrase that holds us accountable for our own success. Doing all you can, to become the best you can. Working towards peace of mind is a relieving change for me, compared to working tirelessly to reach targets, finish projects or to break arbitrary barriers I've set for myself in my mind. Now, I see myself as successful when I'm able to get a good night's sleep, or when I've found time to enjoy myself, because I see the best version of me as somebody who has time to do those things.

Imagine the best version of yourself. What do they look like? How do they spend their time? How do they feel? Now imagine coming home to see your loved ones, finding some extra time to spend on your hobbies, or being able to relax and doing absolutely nothing. Maybe it's a rainy night and the wind is howling outside so you curl up on the couch with your favourite hot drink, you feel warm and cozy and you stay there all night. Nobody ever used their last breath to say they wished they had spent more time in the office.