What is Success?
Throughout our lives, we’ve always been told what generic success looks like. Achievements in sports, art, other extracurriculars, amounting to a small fortune, and getting good grades in school have all been attributed to success. Although they are images of success, I feel like success goes much deeper than that.
To me, the definition of success can be someone who sees the light in the dark times when there may be no light to see. It could be someone who gets knocked down daily but continues to get back up. It could be someone who listens to their heart and goes after that feeling no matter what others may think. It could be someone who dreams so big that people say, “this kid is crazy”, but chases it anyways. It could be someone who does the hard things like leaving friends and going through a time of loneliness because they know this will be the best for them. It could be someone who refuses to change their ways to fit in; finally, it’s believing and betting on yourself when nobody else will.
Your accomplishment does not define your true success. Accomplishments are successes that are acknowledged by others. The people around you will know if you won that baseball tournament when you receive public credit for it, but nobody will know that you betted on yourself for years when everyone said you couldn’t do something. At the end of the day, what has the bigger impact on your life? I think we all know the answer. Your accomplishments should not define success, and if you ask me, it’s much harder to believe in yourself when everyone else is counting against you than it is to go out and win something physical.
People doubt themselves. They lack some sort of physical accomplishment and then think they are behind everyone else. Have you ever considered maybe you’re in the perfect spot, you are on your correct pace, or perhaps you needed those setbacks to strengthen certain aspects of yourself, so when you do get to that desired spot, you won’t ruin it due to lack of experience or knowledge or experience? Life will knock you down, and just when you begin to get back up, it will knock you down even harder. You are successful if you refuse to lay down, refuse to give up, and refuse to give in. If you continue to believe in yourself when there is 0 reason for that you will find pure success, the success that God desires for our lives.
God does not care about money; money is finite, not eternal. Trophies are finite, every physical accomplishment in this world is finite, but you are not. You can create a life that one day will be deserving of God saying, “well done my good and faithful servant.” Think about that, the creator of all, someone who is and always will be, tells you that you did a good job. That should speak way more volume than a coach who you most likely won’t even talk to in a few years saying the same thing because you can sometimes outperform your opponents.
With all this, I’m not saying to not work hard at your craft. Whatever you do, you should strive to be great and make something out of that talent; it was given to you for a reason. Outwork everyone, and never settle for mediocrity. But I am saying that when you inevitably fail at what you do, don’t let it dictate your mental state. Don’t let that failure tell you that you are a failure. That failed game, competition, meet or whatever it may be does not define your success; your success is defined by how you decide to respond to that failure.
I hope you begin to realize how successful you are in your life. I pray that your eyes will begin to open up to the fact that although physically you may not have a lot to show for, mentally you are fighting tooth and nail and are refusing to give up. That should be celebrated. Finally, I pray that God pours his love out onto all of you and that you begin to find your identity in God because all of this will be much easier.
Find joy in your day today. Smile that you get to wake up; smile that today you can make a better tomorrow. Life is precious, don’t waste it. You are worth it; you are loved.
Trevor Crowder
