What does success look like in life?

Eric and Kathryn with their grandchildren.

I have been thinking about what success looks like.  Clearly, it depends on what is used as a measuring stick.  There is also the way one feels about him or herself versus the way society looks at you.  It even goes beyond that, as we have to navigate the microcosm of perceptions held by those immediately around us.  And where do we get the data to form an opinion about how successful we are according to these various points of view?  Not everyone will be of the same mind.

If we follow the opinions of the naysayers, we can only conclude that we messed up, big time.  If it is the whisperings of the staunch supporters that guide our sense of achievement, there is nothing that we can do wrong and our lives should be the blueprint for all who come after us, that is if they were smart.  For most of us, though, it is those who are closest to us that provide the necessary feedback to help us evaluate whatever success we have achieved.

This should be the gold standard in helping us achieve a grounded opinion about what we have amounted to.  Money, though important, cannot be the guiding factor for formulating that standard, as Elon Musk would be the very picture of success and he claims to be only at a happy medium as business is fine (understatement of the universe?) but love has eluded him lately.  It can't be the number of children you spawn, as Gengus Khan supposedly fathered several thousand offspring and he can't possibly be that much happier than me with a whopping two progeny to my name.  Perhaps the status of one's career is the secret, whether it is in sports or business or some great title.  You would think that King Charles would be beside himself with jubilation at finally being the nation's highest-ranking member of the royal family, although I doubt it.

No, I think we should look at success as a living, breathing entity, that grows as we do through whatever time we have here on Earth.  I have never been the best teacher, although I held my own and stood up for what I believed.  I haven't been the best father, although I have loved my family to the best of my somewhat flawed ability.  And, now that I am retired, I am not about to make millions, achieve some monumental status, or produce a boatload of progeny.  I think though, that I can say, that I have achieved a fair amount of success with my time here on our blue-green ball.  

My measuring stick is those who have been around me.  My family, my friends, and my coworkers.  I have supported them when it counted, been there when they needed me, and tried to love them to the best of my ability.  And it's not just today or at the end of my life where success gets measured, it should be every day, when I reflect on who I am, what I have done, and what difference I have made.

My measure of success is seen in the people who are in my life and reflected in the relationships I have with them.  Each day, every day, and into the future.  I think I can say, in all honesty, that I have been successful.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com