Often, in our society, we define success in terms of material positions and monetary wealth. We often think about success in terms of whether or not someone is rich in terms of net worth.
However, is being rich in money and things actually success?
It doesn’t have to be.
Ways to Measure Success
One of the tenets of a frugal lifestyle is that you don’t need a lot of things to make you successful. A frugal lifestyle also insists that you don’t have to spend a lot of money (or have a lot of money) to have success.
Other ways to measure success include:
- Health: Are you relatively healthy? Do you take care of yourself? If you have your health, a good quality of life is more likely. Money doesn’t help you much if you are too sick to do anything with it.
- Family: Do you have loved ones around you? This can often be a sign of success far beyond money. With family in good health, and offering you the chance for good social interactions, money isn’t as important.
- Friends: If you have a winning personality and good friends to rely on, that often means that you have good success in your life. You can’t replace those social interactions with money.
- Contentment: Are you happy with your life? If so, there is no reason to try to amass things just to impress other people. Contentment is often a sign of peace and success — even if it doesn’t come with a high net worth.
Think about your situation and your life. In many cases, a good life isn’t dependent on building up vast stores of wealth. Instead, true success is more likely in good health, good friends and family, and a feeling of peace and contentment with the choices you’ve made.
Financial Freedom and Success
Of course, most people don’t consider themselves to have financial success if they are in debt, or if they can’t make ends meet. There is a financial element to defining success in your life. But it doesn’t have to be about keeping score in terms of raw numbers and what you have in your bank account.
In many cases, financial success is defined more as freedom. If you are able to cover your needs without going into debt, and if you have the ability to enjoy some of your wants — even if you have to plan ahead and save up to do so — that is often considered financial success.
Bottom Line
Piling up possessions and growing a bank account to just to have more may not bring you happiness. While there are some who define success in terms of the status bestowed by money and things, you don’t have to make that your own definition. If that status is important to you, go ahead and pursue it. But if it isn’t important to you, don’t feel bad if you don’t rack up a huge bank account. Instead, think about what matters most to you, and build a life that looks like your own version of success.
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