What’s your favorite food?

When you answer this question, how complicated does your answer get? 

Do you try to match what the cool kids like? Do you worry about being judged? Or, do you just think with your gut and let the answer fly? Pizza. Steak. Burger. Chocolate cake.

For many people, answering this question is easy and uncomplicated. Yet, when someone asks, “What’s your idea of success?” the answer suddenly becomes infinitely more complicated. You start factoring in what society thinks, what your parents think, what your friends think, and you start getting away from the beautiful simplicity that you used when talking about food.

It’s easy to understand why. Food is not a loaded question. Your favorite food, despite what some Buzzfeed listacle may tell you, doesn’t say much about who you are as a person. Your idea of success, however, seems to carry a certain weight to it. If you don’t want “enough” or want the “right” things, then people might judge you.

Today, we’re here to throw all of that out the window. When you think of your idea of success, eliminate what anyone else might think about it except you. What will make you feel happy? What will make you feel valuable and accomplished? Make sure that you aren’t subconsciously living out someone else’s plans. Your idea of success should be as easy to conjure – and just as purely individualized – as your favorite food.

If it’s not, then you have some homework to do.

TSM