Do You Know the True Definition of Success
On Sunday, August 29, 2021, I completed my twelfth triathlon. A short time later, I found myself wondering, “Do you know the true definition of success?”
You might think that I was overcome with joy when I crossed the finish line. You’d be wrong, though. I was discouraged and completely disappointed in myself. In fact, I cried – not once…not twice…but three times within 90 minutes of completing the race. I felt like a total failure.
I know that sounds weird. I’m sure it’s hard to understand how someone who swam a mile, rode a bike 26 miles and ran a 10K could feel like a complete failure. So I’ll try to explain as best as I can.
A Little Bit of Background Info
I’d trained for that race for several months. For me, the hardest part of the race is the swim, so that was the main focus of my training. I wanted to be comfortable in the water. Like so comfortable that nothing would faze me. The week before the race, I felt really confident. Two days before the race, I had my final swim, and I felt pretty comfortable. I set a goal. I just KNEW that I was going to have the best swim of my life, that my bike ride would be consistent, and that I would own the run. But none of that actually happened.
Long story short, I had the worst swim and the slowest run out of all my previous triathlons. I didn’t come anywhere close to reaching my goal, so I felt like a failure. However, when people asked how it went and how I felt, they seemed surprised by my response. They all said something like, “What are you talking about?! You did great! You finished the race!”
That made me look inside myself and ask, “Do you know the true definition of success?”
What is the Definition of Success?
If you were to walk up to four different people and say, “Do you know the true definition of success?”, it’s highly likely that each of them would give a totally different definition that makes perfect sense. For our discussion, we’ll head over to Google since it’s very simple.
The first thing that comes up when you Google “definition of success” is, “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”.
That’s it. It’s just that simple. To accomplish (or complete) something is the very definition of success.
If it’s that simple, why in the world have I been feeling so badly about my performance?
Can You Relate?
I’m sure that someone can relate to feeling like a failure while everyone else celebrates your success.
Maybe you intended to wake up early enough to get to the 5:30 am class at the YMCA Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but you were only able to make it on Wednesday. The instructor was super excited to see you when you came, but you’re embarrassed that you only made it once after saying you’d be there all week.
Perhaps you have a five pound weight loss goal, but you didn’t lose anything at all. Your personal trainer is excited because you were able to maintain your weight for an entire week, but you’re extremely disappointed because the numbers didn’t go down.
It’s possible that your challenge has nothing to do with health and fitness, but there’s some area in your life that your friends and loved ones celebrate, while you’re tempted to give up because things are just that bad in your eyes.
Keep It In Perspective
If you’re with me on any of that, my words to you are precisely what I’ve been telling myself for the past few days: success is success. Each small victory is a stepping stone to a larger victory. Every single success should be celebrated rather than placed on a scale that measures its importance.
I can’t prove it, but I think that truly embracing that all success is success would lead us to have more fulfilled lives.
Hopping on the Scale! Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s success!
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