Years ago, my children and I would often play a video game called “Just Dance.” We’d mimic the dancers on the screen, each of us trying to match the fun dance moves.
During one particular holiday, I joined my children in playing.
My purpose was to get moving after the holiday overindulgence and to have fun.
My children’s goal was to have fun, probably laugh at Mom, and, of course, win.
My son had cleverly figured out how to move the sensors just enough to match the actions on the screen and win without actually moving his body—a trick that greatly annoyed his sisters!
Meanwhile, I was just trying to keep up.
After completing my first successful dance, I celebrated by congratulating myself, telling everyone in the room how awesome I was. (I had to be my own cheerleader.)
However, one of my daughters, disagreeing with my self-assessment, simply said, “But I won.”
Feeling that I had exerted more effort and gained the most benefit from the dance, I replied, “But I was more successful than you.”
Her response was simple yet profound: “It depends on your definition of success.”
Exactly!
For me, success wasn’t about the high score. I wanted to move, have fun, and get some exercise. So, by my standards, I felt very successful!
My daughter, on the other hand, aimed to win with the highest number of points. And she did.
In a competitive game, is it possible to have more than one winner?
Perhaps the answer depends on your definition of success.
Is your definition of success shaped by comparisons or by what others consider successful?
It’s easy to say that we don’t care what others think, but we are constantly bombarded with someone else’s ideals—in the news, on TV, in magazines, on social media, and more.
It takes self-confidence and maturity to define what success means to you and to acknowledge that it may not align with someone else’s definition.
And that’s perfectly okay!
I encourage you to get to know yourself, listen to that inner voice that recognizes your best efforts, and support yourself in your own measure of success.
Celebrate your successes because they are yours!
Love,
