Redefining success…

So much of what we hear and see in the media creates an idea of what success looks like. 

• It’s the clothes, the cars, and the beautiful spaces. 
• It’s the experiences, the food, and the perfect looking family. 
• It’s the job, the resources, and the respect.
• It’s living fulfilled, living your purpose, or living on mission. 

We may struggle to define it, but we know what it looks like in the lives around us. Through the lens of Social MEdia, we are able to point it out in the lives of friends and strangers alike. We see the highlights of others lives and measure our days against them.

How would you define success? It isn’t something I think about much, but I am beginning to realize that there are forces pushing me toward a vision of success I’m not entirely sure I want. What if I don’t like that vision? What if I want to choose another? I am thinking about how I want define success, in my life. What are the goals I would point to as the priority? 

As I scratch beneath the surface, I find that there are lots of ideas tangled up in my heart. The images I see every day in the world around me, the expectations of my culture, and my own desires are all tangled up for me. I have this idea of what success should look like, and that vision pushes me along like an underground current in my life. 

But, what if I don’t want to go where they are taking me? Instead, I want to hold them up for inspection and make sure they align with the things that are most valuable and important to me. I want to curate a vision of success on my own terms. 

Health & wellness– Emotional and physical health now take on a whole new place in my life. Before, I lived as though my body were a given that never had to be considered. I now know that my body, mind, and soul are deeply connected and must be nurtured and protected as a vital and valuable resource. The challenge for me is to live that new awareness out.

Success here is not based on a number on my scale or the back of my pants, but a new awareness that my body must be nurtured and cared for as a good friend. She needs to be fed, clothed, and cherished. I’m not going to get another. 

I don’t need to run a marathon or climb far away mountains. I am here for the ordinary pleasures and delightful moments of my life. The taste of chocolate, the smell of freshly mowed grass in summer, the feel of a baby’s fingers wrapping around my own. I want to be as whole and healthy as I can be for my one wild life. 

Supportive relationships-The highest priority in my life is to know and be known by others. I long to live deeply connected in a supportive community. The reality, as I well know, is that community is difficult and fleeting. Relationships change over time. And yet, this need to be seen and accepted, to see and embrace, remains among my most basic expressions of what it means to be human. 

Success in this area does not mean holding people close. Time changes and shifts our lives in surprising ways. Instead, it means continuing to show up and be seen, to live vulnerable and alive to others. It looks like nurturing and protecting my primary relationships and also leaving space for new friendships. I want to live open-handed when it comes to people.  

Spiritual vitality-Spiritual growth and development never end. The beginning of a spiritual life does not look like the middle or the end. As time moves me unwaveringly forward, I must dig into my faith, and find the resources to live all my days with grace and joy. I need to tend the inner relationship that fills my cup and brings me the strength I need for my daily life. 

Success in this area looks like growth, wonder, and joy. It means that I don’t have this “Christian” thing all nailed down but am leaving open the door for wonder and surprise. It means I am less afraid of what others think and more afraid to miss the sweetness of my life. It means will continue to grow into my most authentic self and live out of my deepest values.  

Service to others-I’m not sure that I need the world to know my name, but I am certain I have something to offer to those around me. I want to lean into the world, offering what I’ve been given and trust that it matters. To live awake to the needs spoken, and unspoken around me and to offer what I can to bind and support, lift up and encourage. 

Success in this area means that I will continue to reach out, risk rejection and heart-ache. It means I will offer love where there has been condemnation, grace where there has been failure, and faith where there has been fear. It means entering into the fray with people, knowing that by entering in you are signing up for more pain and loss, and the best seat in the house of a Glimpse of Glory. 

I have lots of goals, dreams, hopes, and ideas about what my future will look like. There are lots of ways to live these values faithfully. The truth is, like everyone, I have no idea what comes next. But, as I face the future, I am ready to become really clear about what matters to me, what I want my life to be about, and the kind of person I long to become. How about you?