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“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”
Francis Chan
What does success mean to you? Wealth? Setting and achieving your goals? having it all? Being able to travel or buy the latest phone or a luxury car?
Most of us have been taught that success looks like going to college and getting a good job. Climbing the corporate ladder to ultimate financial success. But is that your definition of success or someone else’s?
Success doesn’t look the same for all of us. A mom who wants to stay at home and a mom who works outside the home will have very different definitions of success. Each women measures their success based on what they value most. But neither of them is wrong.
If the stay-at-home mom is operating by the working mom’s definition of success, she might feel like she doesn’t have a “real” job. And the working mom operating by the stay-at-home mom’s definition of success might feel like she doesn’t spend enough time with her family. True success for each of these women must be based on what either woman values in her relationship with her family.
For much of my life, I struggled to find my definition of success. After having my daughter at 18, I went back to school and graduated with a 3.86 GPA. I immediately started my career as a software developer and spent the next two decades in the technology field. All around me the definition of success was based on further education and climbing the corporate ladder to managerial roles. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but I could never envision for myself. After 20 years, I just couldn’t see myself being a software developer for the rest of my life.
Now, my definition of success revolves around deepening my relationship with God, and allowing Him to lead me as I seek to fulfill His calling on my life. Success to me now looks like reaching others through writing and helping them discover their God-given purpose. Knowing what success looks like for me keeps me from trying to achieve someone else’s version of success.
Have you defined what success means to you? Your definition of success will be different than mine. Ask Father to help you to create a definition of success based on the things that are important to you… and to Him.
© Deborah Ruck @ As Bold As THE Lion blog
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