Growing older gets me thinking a lot. This month I turned 70, and what keeps arousing my senses... among my thoughts of impending health issues that might take me down... is the recurring question about success. Of course, success is defined differently by different people, and maybe it's an illusive concept, but I have to admit I like my thinking. You can decide for yourself.
There are those who equate success with their jobs, their houses, their possessions, their kids' accomplishments, how many vacations they take, and lots of things. My thinking has success related directly to me. Have I been successful? It probably depends on whether I am answering the question, or someone else is answering it for me. For me, it centres on the answers to two questions I must answer myself as honestly as I can.
The first one is "Am I happy with who I am?" I think about my strengths, my weaknesses, the decisions I've made, the actions I've taken, and my academic, social, and emotional credits. Recently, Pauley Perrette pointed out that we must realize that there is who I think I am, who others think I am, and who I think others think I am. So answering this first question is a bit complicated.
The second question is the one I like the most. "Do I make others happy with who they are?" This, of course, involves giving compliments, following their examples, telling them specifically what I like about them, or what they did. Who does this? Do you? When you think about it, you probably realize that this kind of positive behaviour is more rare than common. Sad, but true.
I firmly believe that your answers to these two questions will confirm, or deny, your success. You can decide the result, and don't forget that you can also set goals and begin to make changes before someone carves a tribute on your tombstone.
