The number staring back at me from my banking app.
The traction on my latest Instagram post.
How much “work” I squeezed into the day.
The fleeting win of getting what I thought I needed, in that moment.
The obvious ways we are taught to define success.
But we can choose…
Success is living life on my own terms.
It’s the boundaries I protect - even when it’s inconvenient.
It’s owning my time.
Having the freedom to say yes. And the courage to say no.
It’s snuffling into the living room and suggesting - to my 15-year-old daughter -
that we take a trip to a farm I heard about (when I searched on Google).
It has ice cream. And pick-your-own strawberries...
It’s the drawn-out “okay then” that came in return.
It’s the gratitude I feel - that she and I are calm and easy.
It’s the look on her face when I presented her with the squishy monster packed lunch box from primary.
The smirk. The eye roll.
And the: “Oh jeez, you’re carrying that.”
Redefining success is a powerful thing.
It has nothing to do with numbers...
