Success

What is success?

Success: favorable outcome
Succeed: attain a desired object or end

You can look "success" up in the dictionary and it will give you a definition.  But what success truly might mean to you is not something you can find in a book.  The words of Merriam-Webster won't describe what success will look like in universal terms.

Here in this community, there are many different versions of success.  For some, their favorable outcome is to stay active in the LDS Church.  Embracing religion and living it with all their mind, body, and soul gives them that feeling of succeeding.  For others, success could be rising above the religion of their youth and embracing themselves.  For others, it's finding a balance that they can be happy with.

But that's the point.  Success is about finding an outcome that you can be happy with.

I don't live your life and you don't live mine.  That will never change.  You get one life and you can't live anyone else's.

My success has been in overcoming.  There were nights where I didn't want to live to see the dawn.  My success has been to put that misery behind me and embrace the happiness that comes from being true to myself.  My success has been to take the weight of Pretending off my shoulders.  My success has been to find a deeper level of spirituality than I ever found within the four walls of a church building.  My success has been to allow myself to love someone and truly learn what "unconditionally" means.

My success is to give myself the opportunity to be a work in progress.

No matter who you are, I know you have success too.  What does it look like for you?