How Do You Measure Success? A Question for Life After University

A few days ago, I saw a video from one of my favourite Youtubers, Evelyn From The Internets, talking about participating in the race of life. Her point was, life doesn't have to be a race, it can be a dance party and we can go as fast or as slowly as we want. She also spoke about how difficult it is to measure success outside of higher education. In University, you know when you're being successful - you pass your tests, you have good grades on your essays and nail your oral presentations - you have a standardized way of measuring your success. It's clear and straight to the point, but once you're out of University, when you don't have tests and essays and presentations anymore, how do you know if you're being successful? How do you measure success?

This is a question that has loomed over my head like a semi-dark cloud for a while. Once you leave the bounds of school, there is a world of possibilities and choosing which way to go isn't always as clear cut as passing a test. Life isn't black and white anymore. It's grey and blue and yellow and all shades under the sun. You make the decisions that you think will benefit your life the better and these decisions aren't based on how to manage your school work load. They're based on how to propel your life forward, making you a better, more well rounded individual. But it's difficult, because how do you know? If you've set high standards for yourself, it can seem that you always coming up short and never truly fulfilling your goals. If you constantly compare yourself to others, which is hard not to do, you'll never feel like you are good enough or have it together enough. I'm terrified of having to navigate these questions.

So, I'm trying to come up with coping mechanisms for all us dealing with measuring success outside of school:

Number 1 - Stay Focused. This is so important. Only you know what goals you have set for yourself and how important  it is for you to achieve them. Don't let anyone tell you your dreams are too big, too this, too that. If you're deeply passionate about something, work towards it!

Number 2 - Stop comparing yourself to others. Stop it. Social media presents you a filtered version of someone's life. Their lives are not like that perfect, I promise you. Don't compare your real life to someone's filtered reality. It's not fair to you and will only be detrimental to your mental health.

Number 3 - Set small goals as well as big goals. Small goals make you feel like you're closer to the big goals and they are as important as the big ones. Every small step is a step closer to the main event. Set small goals for yourself such as write a poem every day, sketch something every day, drink 8 glasses of water - whatever it may be, reaching them will help you feel accomplished and more productive.

I'm going to try and put into practice my own advice. Wish me luck.