Success In Your Own Eyes

What will make you a successful human being? 

What will make you a successful human being in your own eyes, in your own heart, in your own mind?   

Notice I said in your eyes, not in the eyes of other people, not in the eyes of your parents, not in the eyes of your boss, not in the eyes of your friends, not in the eyes of your significant other, if you have one.  

In your eyes.  What will make you a successful person?

This to me is an extremely important question that for much of my life I struggled to answer well.  Even now, freshly 50 years of age, I don’t know if I have a firm answer.

However, I do know that for most of my life I pursued thing after thing thinking achieving them would make me a successful human being.   

I used to think that making millions of dollars would make me a successful human being.  I used to think that getting rid of my speech impediment would set me firmly on the road of tremendous success.  

Now could achieving these things possibly be an occasion for immense joy?  Of course!

BUT would achieving these things make me a successful human being?  I no longer think so.

AND furthermore, I no longer think I can actually define what will make me a successful human being.

I say this because I’ve come to believe that our worth, our importance on this planet extends so far beyond us as individuals and what we identify as our accomplishments.  Who we are, our actions, what we decide to say ‘no’ to, what we decide to say ‘yes’ to, all have a profound ripple effect that goes so far beyond anything we could imagine.  This ripple effect even extends far beyond our own lives.  For example, my great, great, great, great grandparents died years before I was born, but I’m alive and able to type this now because they lived.  If it weren’t for them, there would be no me. 

Yes, it all relates, my friends.  It all relates.

So if at the end of the day I don’t know what makes me a successful human being, what can I do?

I guess I would say I can cultivate quiet confidence that I’m doing good things, accomplishing what I can accomplish and that I’m pursuing my purpose.

Is this as lofty as all the other things I used to think would make me a successful human being?  Not at all!

How do I judge the extent of my own impact upon the world?  I simply realize I can’t and will never be able to judge it accurately.  This is a humble place to be, but feels more realistic and true than trying to accomplish a bunch of things and only if I accomplish them, deem myself a success. 

That’s where I’m at on this topic today.  I ask you the following question knowing that I’ve found it extraordinary tough to answer and that my answer will likely continue to change during the next 50 years of my life:

What do you think will make you successful in your own eyes?

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