Success
What Does Success Really Look Like?
What does it look like to be successful?
Did they just wake up one day being good at everything, with a big new house and a pool table in the basement?
Is it brand-new cars with every bell and whistle imaginable?
What we usually see is the end result of someone’s hard work. And yes, sometimes that result does look like a new house, a new car, or luxurious vacations.
But not all success looks like that.
What if success means financial freedom?
What if it’s a dependable, new-to-you car?
What if it’s simply being happy or content with your life?
I’ve learned that success doesn’t always mean loads of money or flashy things.
Success can—and often does—look different for everyone.
It might be the quiet satisfaction of having weathered the storm that came with the journey. It might be the healing, the growth, or the deep peace that came after the struggle.
Yesterday, my tractor-obsessed son noticed that our township got a new tractor and mower. He pointed out that the trustees must really love it because they’ve been mowing more than usual. Then he said, “I don’t know why they got a new tractor—there wasn’t anything wrong with the old one.”
And that’s when it hit me.
How do we know they didn’t constantly deal with breakdowns?
We don’t.
Like so many of us, he assumed they got something new just because they wanted it—not because it was needed or long overdue.
That’s the thing: we often don’t see the hard work or the struggle that led to someone’s success.
We don’t see the mental or emotional breakdowns when failure inevitably hit.
We don’t see them scraping by financially—or mentally or emotionally.
We don’t see the late-night study sessions, the failed tests, or the stress that came with it all.
We just see the end result—and we measure success based on that alone.
For me, signs of success look like being financially stable, being deeply loved, and having a strong relationship with Jesus.
So next time you see someone you perceive as successful, resist the urge to let jealousy fill your heart.
Because you didn’t see the fight it took for them to get there.
Bible Verse:
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”
—Proverbs 14:30 (NIV)How do we know they didn’t constantly deal with breakdowns?
