How do you define your success?

One of the things i used to love to do is gallop my horse on the beach. Unlike riding in the countryside it is without limitations. For a few seconds you have absolutely no control. You are free to go as fast as your ride can take you. The speed is breath-taking. The feeling is exhilarating. The moment is yours...

Recently i've been looking back at how i used to define my success, and how i was going to achieve it:

When i was a child and growing up i wanted to be a vet. To make my parents proud and have a career doing something loved. I was going to do well at school. Pass all my exams. Excel at study and use my brain to its fullest potential. I wanted to be different. I wanted to prove that i was more.

At college it was my social status on campus. To be the girl that every guy wanted and every girl wanted to be. I wanted to be popular, fashionable, and have it all... a regular modern-day princess. I was going to make friends and be outrageous. Dress to impress and party hard. I wanted to be different. I wanted to prove i had always been more.

In my longest relationship I wanted to be a wife & a mother. Living together was not enough. I wanted to look after the person i loved so much that he would depend on me. I wanted to be his partner, his lover, his best friend all in one. I wanted his devotion and adoration. I wanted to care for him like no one ever did and make him happy. I cooked, cleaned and anticipated his needs. I was there when he lost everything, and stood by him when he got it all back. I wanted us to be different than the rest. I wanted to prove i could keep him.

When my career took off and i began to have faith in myself, i wanted to be rich and highly skilled in anything and everything. I wanted to make a name for myself and feel the security the high value life could bring. I began collecting talents to give myself depth. I started reading & researching everything i could find on whatever had taken my fancy that month. I took a lot on. I created business projects that would work. I planned my path to making millions. I set goals and met them with satisfaction. I knew i would be different. I wanted to prove everyone wrong.

And now? whats this got to do with horse-riding on a beach? Well now my success is not defined by what i know, who i am, who loves me or what i have.... 

i realise i've grown-up a lot in the last year of getting to know myself and i no longer feel the pressure to do any of the things i wanted in the past. In fact there is no hurry. I am exactly where i should be in my life right now. No further a head or behind. I am content to just be. And those things that i felt i wanted or needed so badly. I can have them in a blink of an eye. I can have them all. In fact i already have them. But the key is to know that and live your life like it doesn't matter. I remember i am different. And proof is not needed.

My success is now defined by the answers to the questions i ask myself everyday:

"Do you live wisely? Do you make good choices. Do you love first and foremost? And do you seek to help others to know success too?"

Riding on the beach is a good example of the best way to answer. It's the intense moments we make that will enable us to say "yes... i do". My rule is this. If it makes you happy then go for it. Sort out the logistics later, or not at all ;)