What does success mean to you?

If you've been following the Olympics recently, you've probably noticed that the definition of success for athletes is strikingly clear and incredibly narrow: be the best, the fastest, on this particular day. It’s a high-pressure, all-or-nothing mindset that demands peak performance at a specific moment in time.

This kind of thinking can sneak into our own lives too. When things don’t go according to plan, we might start to see ourselves as failures. We set out to move from A to B flawlessly, without mistakes, expecting the perfect outcome. When that doesn’t happen, we might harshly judge our efforts as inadequate, and worse, equate that with not being good enough as individuals.

If you find yourself caught in this trap, it might be time to rethink what success truly means.

I have a colleague who has been feeling particularly down about her impact at work. She’s in a role that has the potential to be highly influential, yet her efforts to create change often get lost in the hustle and bustle of daily work demands. Instead of celebrating the progress she’s made, she’s been overwhelmed by frustration and despair.

This reminds me of a story I heard about Mother Teresa. A journalist once asked her how she managed to avoid feeling overwhelmed by the immense scale of hunger she confronted every day. She simply pointed to the child in her arms and said, “Look, this one is taking a mouthful of milk.”

It’s easy to dismiss small victories as insignificant, to think they’re not enough. But perhaps they are. Maybe it’s enough to keep trying, or to try something new, and reach your goals in a way that’s different from what you originally envisioned.

Sometimes, success is recognizing when to let go, when to shift your approach, or even when to redefine what success looks like.

If you’re feeling frustrated and disheartened by the slow pace of change or the challenge of getting others on board with impactful work, it might be a good moment to reassess what success means in all areas of your life. Celebrate your impact, however small it may seem, and explore new paths to success.