"The definition of success--
To laugh much;
to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children;
to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to give one's self;
to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition.;
to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation;
to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived--
this is to have succeeded."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Today was a good day. It was a day filled with productivity and a day filled with pats on the back from important co-workers. It was a day where I came home feeling successful and a day where I felt my worth was very valued. It was a good day...and it felt good.
But...not all days are like today. There are bad days, there are bad days where I feel like things just aren't going the way I would prefer, those "when it rains, it pours" kind of days. Those no good days, the ones where I don't feel like I succeeded at work or the days in college when I didn't do the best on a test.
I have bad days, but then I have more great days that absolutely without a doubt outweigh the bad.
I have days where I think I've spent 4 years starting down a path of a career that I want nothing to do with...and then I have days like today where I do a really good job at something, and I think maybe this is right, it's just going to take a lot of hard work.
I have good days, so many blessed days that I am so thankful for...and then I have blah days. We all do though, right?
Oh...and a secret...on those bad days...I feel like the least successful person in this whole world, and I think we can all agree...those are the worst.
I've never understood the fear of not being successful, not until I entered this big world filled with business people left and right...and boy am I scared. I am a scared 22 year old, who grinned like a 5 year old who just learned how to tie her shoes when I got a "you just amazed me!!" from a boss today.
So yes, I want to be successful...and yes, being successful in my job is important to me. But even those no good, bad days where I don't feel successful at my "job"...I always want to be able to look back at this quote and know that even on those days, I am a success, and that what matters most to me is where I succeed in life.
I am thankful for this day at work...I am thankful that I am finally getting the hang of this crazy real world...
but I am more thankful for the irreplaceable people in my life that have held my hand, instilled in me what it means to be good to people, have taught me how to laugh, how to appreciate beauty and how to find the best in others. Because at the end of the day, that's the kind of success I want to be.
I am thankful for each amazing day, which is every single one of them. Because if we step back for long enough, we all have a nice grip on success just by living each day.
I strive to be successful at my job...but I strive more to be successful in life, and even on those not-so-successful days...I hope to keep close to my heart what it truly means to succeed.
xoxo :)