When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
When I think of the word “successful,” the first person that comes to mind is my younger self.
Now, hear me out—I’m not talking about success in the traditional sense of titles, accolades, or money. No, I’m talking about the version of me that learned to thrive despite the odds. The me that kept pushing forward even when the path seemed unclear. The me that didn’t give up when life threw its hardest punches. That version of myself who rose up from a place of brokenness and decided to heal.
You see, success to me isn’t about perfection or achieving some final destination. It’s about the journey. It’s about waking up each day and choosing to continue showing up—choosing growth, choosing faith, choosing to live fully, no matter what happened the day before.
My younger self taught me the power of resilience. She taught me that success isn’t about never failing; it’s about how you rise after each fall. She taught me that the strongest people are those who find beauty in their brokenness and purpose in their pain.
Today, I’m proud of the woman I’ve become, but I’ll always be grateful to that younger version of me who set the foundation. She is the reason I am where I am today.
Success, to me, is about progress, not perfection. It’s about being at peace with who you are and continually striving to become better. It’s about turning setbacks into setups for something greater.
Lastly, I’ve learned the importance of not pushing my version of success onto others. Too often, we get caught up in society’s definition of success, or even the expectations placed on us by others. But that’s what can lead us to believe we are either “successful” or “unsuccessful” based on someone else’s standards. The truth is, we each have our own path to walk, at our own pace.
The only person I should really be looking to for determining true success is me, because my journey is unique. My version of success may not look like anyone else’s—and that’s okay. In fact, that’s beautiful. The goal is to set my own path, walk it faithfully, and define success by my growth, resilience, and the peace I’ve found along the way.
