there’s a big difference between feeling and being successful

feeling successful and being successful are two very different things. I firmly believe that feeling successful is way, way more important than being perceived as successful by the people around you. I say this because everyone has a different benchmark or goalpost for what it means to be successful. I know at least for myself, I don't feel like I'm successful a lot of the time, even though I'll have certain awards or recognition or the people around me will say, 'Oh, you look so successful. You've had multiple businesses, you've been a product leader, you dropped out of med school.' All these different things that in my head feel very superficial because internally, I don't feel satisfied with what I have achieved thus far because my internal definition of success is very different and honestly, quite undefined at this point in my life. And that's why my goalpost keeps changing and no matter what I achieve, it won't feel like enough. And I think this is really common for a lot of people that are ambitious, they're driving for more in their life. Because when you start to compare yourselves to other people, and that's why it's so important to have a refined definition of what success means to you and what it looks like for you. I've seen some people that are so fulfilled and so successful because of the family they have, the community they have. Other people, it's their career. So understanding what makes you feel successful is far more important than whether other people perceive you to be successful or not.