About a month ago I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine about being successful and what success truly means to us. During this interaction we discussed where we were at the moment and where we wanted to be in the future. One thing stood out to me that I’ve heard many times is “never let someone else’s successes get you down”. This can happen often when we see friends, family or maybe a celebrity reach a certain level of success and it makes us wonder why we haven’t reach this level. Many times we get down on ourselves because we haven’t reached the same level of success as others.
Don’t Listen to the Noise
Often times we tend to listen to family, friends or the media on where we “should be in life”. Their opinions can sometimes get us down and have us reevaluating ever decision we ever made. Whether it’s going to college or not going, what major we chose, what city we decided to live in or who we decide to date. There will always be someone telling us what we could have done better. In a fairy tale world, we would just be able to do what makes us happy without even considering what anyone else has to say. We would simply follow the mantra “to each its own”. Therefore we would all just focus on our own happiness and wouldn’t take a seconds notice of other people’s opinions. However we know this is not the case and overcoming the noise can be overwhelming especially if the person who is expressing this message is close to us. Regardless of the motivation behind the criticism and judgments, in the end it usually causes us to have self-doubt and second thoughts on the path we chose. One of the keys to success is to have control over our mindset and what messages we allow to cultivate our mind.
Believe in Your Path
In life everyone has a different journey to success. Many times attaining success can be a struggle to overcome obstacles to reach our ultimate goal. The lack of self-belief doesn’t have to keep us from our predestined success. We have to protect and believe in our vision for our lives. A realization that I came to was there is no “one way to be successful”. There are just different methods, techniques or ideology’s to reach success.
Final Thoughts
Remember you know yourself better than anyone and if you believe in whatever path your life is headed. Don’t let anyone discourage you from following your dreams and vision. What are some of your goals for 2017?
Copyright ©2016 Jay Colby All Rights Reserved.
Jay Colby 
Great write up and I totally agree. My older sister always reminded me every time I tried to compare where I was in life to that of my friends or people around me, that you shouldn’t compare someone’s pinnacle of success to your own beginning. Of course it’ll look skewed against you. We all will have our time if we work continuously at our goals. Thanks for this very timely reminder, Jay!
My 2017 goals:
Workout 4-5 times a week
Get a raise aligned with my market value in my line of work (I have a very specific number in mind)
Work at growing my YouTube channel
Move into my very own place (no roommates! :))
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Thank you I’m glad you enjoyed it & those are some great goals. I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing all your success in 2017!
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Thank you!
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Yes, we have to have confidence in our chosen path. It’s ours alone and not for anyone else, so why should they have input?
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Exactly thanks for reading!
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Great post Jay, I’ve never been the jealous type but the “noise” from others can get pretty loud and distracting at times, especially when someone you know or love is becoming quite successful. Some of my goals are to be able to reach out to hundreds of people through my blog by the end of the year and to attend college, where I hopefully figure out what I’d like to do for the rest of my life haha. I guess that a general goal for 2017 would be to finally answer some questions I’ve been asking myself about my future and in what direction I want to take my life in. Thanks Jay!
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I completely understand & those are some awesome goals. I wish you all the success in your journey!
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Very passionate post, Jay. Thanks.
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Thanks for reading!
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Hi, Jay. Your post is right on the money. If I could give any advice to people in their twenties and thirties, it would be to stop comparing yourself to anyone. Stay true to yours goals and dreams. The second thing I would tell them is to limit your exposure to negative people. I’m not talking about just the toxic ones that you naturally avoid. I’m also talking about the friends and family who put little negative messages in your ear or say things that make you doubt yourself.
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Great advice thanks for sharing!
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Stay true to yourself. Your correct only I really know me. I must recognize my short comings to be successful
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Exactly thanks for reading!
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Great post! Many a wise too go through judgment or doubt of their own ways of pursuing success, even positive feedback or advise can create that ‘noise’ so as to questioning ‘are we doing enough?’
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Very true even positive feedback can cause self-doubt. Thanks for reading!
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I love this perspective – and the reminder, too. I may even use it for a post of my own as I’m doing a blog challenge in January; it fits perfectly with my usual topics, and I think we could all use a reminder from time to time, not only to stay positive but also to stay happy for the successes of those around us.
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Thank you & you’re right we all need a reminder from time to time!
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A few of my goals for 2017: Finish my paralegal studies degree, finalize plans for taking courses to become a certified professional coder, finally see the Grand Canyon and visit Las Vegas, and start editing my NaNoWriMo endeavors from 2012, 2013, and 2014!
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Those are some awesome goals. I wish you all the best & I look forward to seeing all your success!
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Sometimes it’s a little hard to believe in the path that you’re on when you see everyone around you achieving their goals at a much faster pace, but this was definitely a good read and great advice
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Very true thanks for reading!
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Not only does everyone have their own path to follow, but everyone has their own definition of how to measure their success. For many it can be money,or fame, or power, but it can also be happiness and pursuing what you enjoy doing.
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Well said everybody has their own definition of success. Thanks for reading!
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Lovely post! Self belief is really important to keep us focussed on achieving our goals. And yes, there’s always someone who tries to compare you to others, to pull down your spirits but we should do our best to ignore such people .
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Very true great advice. Thanks for reading!
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Pingback: Stay on Your Own Path — Jay Colby | Lady Dyanna
exactly Jay, true success comes from following ones own feeling & everyone’s path is different
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