Redefining Success: From Building a Life to Living It

I don't regret the hustle, but it's time for a new season. One that allows me to shift from hustle to rest.

Choosing to leave Indiana and attend graduate school in Tennessee was a turning point in the development of my identity and overall personal story. I didn’t know anyone there, and that gave me the gift to decide, truly on my own, who I wanted to become. I left that experience confident that if I ever needed to, I could figure it out - whatever “it” might be.

When I graduated in 2012 and (begrudgingly) moved back home, I carried with me an understanding that my life was mine to design. It was my responsibility to make the choices necessary to shape the life that I wanted to live. I had learned that life doesn’t just “happen,” but it’s curated. If I wanted a certain kind of marriage and home life in the future, I needed to date intentionally, looking for someone aligned with those goals. If I wanted a certain career and lifestyle, I needed to pursue job opportunities that would help support those goals. I needed to live life on purpose and to be conscious about the choices I was making because success wasn’t something I could stumble upon, but a goal I had to pursue.

(Once a friend and I had a great discussion about how awkward it can feel when people celebrate our accomplishments with surprise. People will say, “You’re so lucky to have ____?” or “Can you believe you earned ____?” Proud, yes. Surprised, no. We’re never surprised by our successes because our success doesn’t just happen. What others are witnessing are the visible signs of intentional choices we made to arrive at these destinations.)

I’m grateful for that season of my life, it served me well. I prayed and worked hard for the life I’m currently living. What I have today is exactly what I wanted. And I’m working to shift my perspective so that I’m fully appreciating this reality. I’m moving from a season of building, into a season of enjoying. It’s time I take my foot off the gas (just a little), relax, and fully embrace the life I once dreamed of living.