Successful people measure their outcomes in lots of different ways. If you’re like the rest of us, you may struggle to figure out if you’re doing okay. According to television, movies, and the media, we measure success by the amount of money you have, your job titles, whether or not you have a family. But these seem to be such superficial indicators.
Material realities can be a good measure of success, but they’re not the only things that count. When it comes to measuring success, there’s so much more to consider. If you’re wondering where you measure up, you may be doing better than you think.
Here Are 7 Signs You’re More Successful Than You Think You Are
“Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with. In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.” – Richard Branson
1. You haven’t given up on your dreams
Even if you haven’t achieved them yet, you’re still making plans and moving forward with trying to reach your goals. Success isn’t always measured in whether or not you’ve met all your life goals – sometimes, it just means having them in the first place, and refusing to give up. As long as you’ve always had a dream, and you keep moving forward and taking chances and steps to achieve it, you’re doing great.
2. You’re still alive and healthy
This is probably the most important measure of success. Life can be full of so many twists and turns, ups and downs – if you’ve ever struggled with low points in your life, or depressive episodes, you probably have realized how hard it is to keep pushing forward. But if you’ve made it out of every low point and you’re still alive, then that is definitely cause of celebration. Congratulations – you’re a success.
3. You keep improving despite all the obstacles
Sometimes, people feel like they’ve reached their peak and there’s no reason to keep moving forward and learning more and improving themselves as a person. Even if you’ve failed a few times in your life, you’re still a success if you learn from those failures and mistakes and use them to keep improving yourself every day.
CEO of Lexion Capital Management Elle Kaplan says, “Too often in life, people’s goals get derailed when they focus on their setbacks. But if you have the mental fortitude to pivot in a more productive direction when things go wrong, you’re setting yourself up for success.” It doesn’t matter if you’ve failed ten times or one hundred – as long as each failure is met with an attempt to better yourself.
4. Someone loves you
Whether this person is your family, a friend, or your lover, having someone who cares about you and loves you is an important way to measure success. Author Liz Ryan states, “If you have people around whom you love and who love you back, you are successful.”
Life can get lonely, and it’s always better when you’re sharing all the ups and downs with someone who cares about you. A love that is unconditional and unyielding is one way to measure your success, and if you’ve found it, then you’re on the right track.
5. You’ve learned to forgive
Holding onto grudges may feel good at first. But eventually, that anger and resentment will begin to eat away at us. If you’ve learned the (sometimes complicated) art of forgiveness, then your life has become more and more successful each day that you live free of that anger.
“Learn to forgive as soon as you can. It’s just so you can get “unstuck” in life, start moving forward faster, and open the door to more success and happiness,” says NLP Life & Business Coach Kevin J. Donaldson.
Forgiving people is more about allowing yourself to heal rather than letting someone off the hook. You’ll find that your mind and body are more at peace once you learn to forgive.
6. You have home and clothes
It’s time to take a step back and look around you. If you have a home and a roof over your head as well as clothes on your back, then I would say that you’re doing pretty good. Regardless of all the other things going on around you, if you’ve managed to cultivate a home for yourself and keep yourself dressed and fed, then any other measurements of success don’t really matter. You’re doing great.
7. You can be yourself
No matter who that happens to be, if you’re in a place mentally and physically where you can be yourself and express yourself how you want, then you’ve reached a place of success that few others can achieve. Sure, there are people with thousands upon thousands of dollars, but they’re often stuck and unable to express themselves how they truly wish, and inspire no one to be true to themselves. If you’ve made it this far in your journey to success, then you’re doing amazing.
Success doesn’t always have to be about money, or trophies, or titles. Sometimes, success is about how you’ve grown as a person and your journey from who you were to who you are. Some people live their whole lives never making that journey. Learning to accept that success can come in all different kinds of sizes means that you’re going to be able to move forward in life feeling more positive, confident and – yes! – successful.
