How Do You Define Success?

Just Get Up and Go To Work

I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea lately, the idea of success and how I measure it. It’s an elusive idea in my head; each time I think I iron out my own idea of success the definition changes and so I change my path to get to where I want to be.

How do you define success for yourself? Does it relate to money, stability, title? Or is it more related to happiness and well being? Maybe a combination of it all?

On some days, the kind of success that I want involves Lovely Indeed and my business goals. The word “hustle” bounces around in my head and I feel energized to work work work in pursuit of that kind of success. Bigger numbers, increased readership, more active social media accounts, hire employees, more exciting brand partnerships, fancier photo shoots, and all that jazz. But you don’t just jump ahead to all of those things. Right? They take slogging and churning and months (years!) of putting in the hours to lay the groundwork. Just good, old fashioned, put-your-head-down work. So is the work in itself the success? There are about a zillion quotes on the internet about how success is simply not quitting after you fail. Do you agree?

On other days, success in our house looks like this: Henry ate breakfast, Maggie didn’t throw up anywhere, and we spent time together as a family. That simple. That is success. And that kind of success, for me, is just as fulfilling (in a different way). Success as a wife and mother is always at the front of my mind, because when I got married and started a family I promised to always have it be my priority. I LOVE MY JOB. And I’m more grateful than I can ever say for what I do. But my family is everything.

And on those magical days when everything clicks with my family and I get to do the work that I love, I kind of feel like superwoman. That kind of success is the most sweet.

So I suppose, for me, success is balance. It’s the whole package. It’s being surrounded and bolstered by the people that I love most, who encourage me to do the work that moves me. It’s getting to do a little bit of everything.

Take a second. Think on it. And tell me how you define a successful day in your life. xoxo

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5 Comments

  1. Definitely balance for me as well! Last February, I took a step back and reevaluated everything. I then worked to create a better balance and I have been so much happier, I am not a crazy stress ball anymore and love our family life. I say no so much more and maybe I have missed some opportunities, but it wasn’t the right time. It took a long time to get that balance though and learn to say no!

    1. Learning to say no is soooooo hard and reevaluating everything isn’t an easy task… I admire you so much to know you have managed to maintain balance (almost) a year layer! xoxo to many more less stressful and happy years. ?

  2. These really resonated with me. I’m not a mother, I’m not married, and my blog is just a glorified hobby, but figure out what success looks like is a struggle for me too. Some days it’s that our house is clean and there’s no dishes in the sink. Somedays it’s that we aren’t eating take out for the 10th day in a row, and somedays it’s that I knocked out a bunch of blog content. So I really relate to the idea that balance is success. Not stressing out too much about any aspect of my life is success. Such a lovely post!

    xo,
    Diana
    http://unusuallylovely.com

    1. Thanks doll! I believe it’s the little “wins” in life that keep us sane. ? p.s. Your blog is lovely — bookmarking that pomegranate gin slush! xo

  3. I looooove this thoughtful post, Chelsea! I definitely find that it varies day-to-day for me too. Most days I’m happy to say that I feel proud to be here on this earth, to be trying to live intentionally, to have meaningful relationships and leave my corner of the world a little better than when I found it, and that is success. Other days I want to HAVE THE BIGGEST BLOG EVER! Haha. xoxo