Defining Happiness and Success
December 21, 2023
Have you thought about what happiness and success mean to you? Most of us would want both, but what does that look like for you? It’s not enough to say that happiness is the "state of being happy" or that success is "the achievement of a goal” (Oxford Dictionary) because both are subjective by nature and, therefore, warrant your personalization.
If your current definition of happiness and success remains the same as from your younger and more impressionable years, from when your family, friends, society, and television shows guided your thinking, then you owe it to yourself to reexamine these definitions.
Personalizing your definitions of happiness and success is possible when you make decisions that are reflective of your wants, needs, and beliefs. It doesn’t mean you won’t come to the same conclusions as your early lessons, but it does mean that you are setting yourself up to feel more confident that you’re working towards what you truly want.
Consider the impetus for making decisions ranging from purchases, and partners, to professions. What drives your decisions? Are they influenced by formal and informal lessons from others or personal curiosity and introspection? Do you place more value on what others think is best for you than what you want for yourself?
Achieving happiness and success isn’t linear; it doesn’t follow a step-by-step plan with guaranteed outcomes. It’s an emotional experience that extends beyond your comfort zone. It’s your drive, determination, and grit. It’s your willingness to go there all the while knowing that there may be somewhere different from what you anticipated or initially wanted.
To go there and uncover what achieving happiness and success looks like for you, delve deeper into yourself, and look past the ideals of happiness and success that the outside world has impressed upon you. Here are some guiding questions that can help you focus inward:
What does happiness look and feel like to you?
What qualities of success do you see in your role models?
What are some things you are currently doing that contribute to your happiness?
What would your path to success look like if there were no obstacles?
Once you uncover your personal definitions of happiness and success, the next step is deciding how you will approach things differently and allowing yourself to make the necessary changes. Asking yourself these questions might be new and different—they might lead to answers that take you down a path that requires courage to think differently, all of which focus on living your life in accordance with your personalized definition of happiness and success.