Success Is a Journey Not a Destination

Success can be a very deep and abstract word to define. It can mean by reaching a goal, or by being the best what one does. Whether it is the former or the latter, everyone has their own definition and opinion of success, while I myself, at the age of seventeen, defines success as a continuation process. Like the quote from Arthur Ashe, "Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome."

To the majority of the people, success means achieving a certain goal that one or others has set upon oneself. This kind of success can be drove by the outcome of the work or motivation, and certainly projects the idea idea of hard works pays off.

To other people, success means being the best out of all or at what they do. They do not just wish to achieve a good result, they want to be the best. This statement is especially true to the people playing sports, and attending competitions. For example, an individual competing as a swimmer in the Olympics. You do not only want to be good and finish the competition, you want to be the best, you aim to be the best, to make the first place, or to mark your name on the world's record. This kind of success brings you great happiness and a feeling of completness, however if you fail, you could be more disappointed than just reaching the goal, because the requirements are higher, thus when you fall from such a high place, your are more likely to experience emotional breakdown.

In addition, success to some people means achieving their goal or giving their best shot, to other people it is aiming to be successful by all means. These are all true, however, in my opinion, success means two things. Firstly, it is the process of failure to failure without losing enthusiasm of perusing your goal. It is also the action when you feel like quitting but remember what got you started and the commitment you have already made. One of my favourite quote and motto is "Don't stop when you're tired, stop when you are done", I think this fits perfectly with my statement.  Secondly, success does not just end once you accomplish your goal, or when you are the best out of the best already. To me, success is the ongoing process of challenging and renewing yourself. It is possible, yes, that you successfully reached your goal, and is the best already, however the idea is that you need to go beyond your goal. Don't let your goals confine you into a box.

In conclusion, I believe there are two forms of commonly accepted definitions and concepts of what success is. Success can mean achieving a goal, trying your best, and by being the best. However, in my opinion, I believe success is the process of not quitting when you want to, and remember what got you started in the first place. I also believe that success does not just end after you have reached success, because to me success means an ongoing process of challenging and renewing yourself, therefore, success is a journey, not a destination. It is a journey of thousands of miles but begins with a single step.

Here are more information about success.