Success Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

I was contemplating the meaning of success earlier today, as I thought about its many interpretations for different people.  If you were to ask anyone what they feel success is, I am sure you would get so many varied answers that the list would be quite large.  What is most interesting is the many degrees that encompasses this term and depending on where you are in life, it is all relative.  Imagine the many people that suffer with long term illnesses, for them having a good day where they may not need as much medication or assistance from someone else could be considered a successful day.  For the young child who struggles to understand with a learning disability, if they were to go to class and feel that they were not impaired on that day, or feel somewhat normal, they too could see this achievement.   There are people that challenge themselves to have better health and for them perhaps being able to get to they gym or make a healthy meal without exerted effort may be the best they could do for themselves.  The famous director and actor Woody Allen once stated very succinctly, that eighty percent of success was just showing up.  Therefore, if this type of progress varies by individual, we should all be having more of it in our lives as a result.  How you define it and what it looks like, is entirely up to you and the power that you have to customize your view is part of your life's tool box.  I am sure that if we were to think about things long enough, we could be very critical of our achievements or perhaps the lack of them in comparison to others.  However, there are many things that one can find pride in, that could be the building block of many stepping stones.  Don't be so critical of  yourself, remember that life is always too short and the less time you focus on what you don't have versus those things that you do, is far more compelling.  If you have goals in mind, make sure that you put pen and paper to them, say them out loud and tell others.  Nothing can hold you more accountable towards achievement than by writing it, hearing it and having others validate it for you.  Take note that with time anything is possible and there are no such thing as having an unimaginable dream, it all begins with your own effort and will.  The next time you think about someone else that you admire and the success they have achieved, make sure to include yourself in that same venue.  I am sure that there are many that perceive you as being successful, you just may not be aware of it yet.