OPINION: Success is an opinion not a fact

What defines success? Is success having a nice job, car or clothes? Is it having lots of friends and partying? Who decides what success is for us?

Success is an opinion, not a fact. Success is not the same for everyone and we need to understand this. It will help us to avoid comparison over who is more “successful.”

If you think success is having that competitive job in the big city, then you go after it because that’s what you want. If you think success is being a family-oriented person, then you do that because it’s your success story. You can also do both, you don’t have to be one or the other.

In life, but specifically college, we get this idea that the busier we are equals how successful we are. A game of “who’s the busiest?” is a popular question among friends.

Does being busy now mean being successful?

If you love to be busy and it truly makes you happy, then go for it. However, if it doesn’t and you find yourself miserable being busy and “successful,” reflect what success actually looks like to you.

Maybe success to you is having lots of free-time to hang with friends, family, or even to watch tv.

Your idea of success will change, and probably has changed multiple times over your life — if not multiple times just in college itself.

Some students might look at getting a 80% on an assignment as awful, while others look at the score like a million dollar deal. It all comes down to our perspective of what success is. Neither is wrong nor right.

We tend to — even if we don’t want to — put a lot of pressure on our shoulders to reach certain expectations, then when we fall flat we get disappointed in ourselves. Instead of getting disappointed, maybe we just need to reevaluate those expectations to see if they were realistic.

Are you unsuccessful if you don’t reach those expectations? No. You learn from the experience and try again.

I truly believe “success” is not a destination, but a state of mind. You’re not only successful when you get that job or buy that car. You are successful right now.

Nobel prize winner Albert Schweitzer said, “success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Essentially say if you’re happy, you’re successful.

Take some weight off your shoulders, and just appreciate how successful you are right now. Because you are.