You are worthy of a meaningful life.

I’ve worked a corporate job for most of my adult life. Since I’ve been at it, I’ve internalized a lot of messages. Particularly what it means to be successful… and how to define my self-worth accordingly.  We are taught that success looks a certain way. Usually it is proportionate to the amount of money, power or prestige we have. And we come to think that this narrow version of success – once achieved –  will give our lives meaning and purpose. 

But the truth is, it doesn’t.

Because our worth doesn’t come from those things.

And when we define success by other people’s standards, meaning doesn’t follow.

Meaning can only be generated when we give energy to the things that feel alive within us. We know these things, not always intellectually, but by how we feel when we pursue them. It could feel like a spark in your solar-plexus, or a jolt of creative flow, or just a sense of peace. They are joyful. They are hopeful. Simple as that. 

So. In a world where we are told our value must exist outside of ourselves, how do we reclaim our self-worth? 

Let go of the “I shoulds”, so you can hear the “I woulds”.  When caught in a loop of other people’s voices you lose yourself. Stop defining your life on other people’s terms.

We are deserving of full, rich lives that aren’t driven by what we think we “should” do. But instead, by what we believe we could do, when we trust in ourselves enough to try. Start believing that you have enough guts, creativity and intuitive intelligence to make the right decisions. 

Let expectations fall away to reveal the choice that would make you happiest.

Define success on your own terms. To do so can feel radical, but is necessary.  Success is going to look different for each person. And it will look different, even to you, at different points in your life. You could be crushing it in your thirties only to find yourself struggling in your forties. Or maybe you don’t catch your “big break” until you're sixty-five.

It’s impossible to say that there is one right way to find success. Or one right timeline against which to achieve it. 

Success to me is this:

• Did I give my gifts as freely to the world as I wanted to? 

• Did I show up and love people as deeply as I could? 

• Did I speak my truth into the world, even when I felt nervous? 

Maybe those resonate with you, or maybe they don’t. Either way, find your version of these questions. Then ask them of yourself.