Find your own definition of success

Words are what we make them. That isn't to say that words are powerless or unimportant, only that although definitions may already exist, the meaning of a word has the potential to chance over time, across cultures, and even from person to person. Often times creating slight variations on the definitions of words may seem trivial, but in reality these minute differences can have not only a huge impact on a persons life, but also on their happiness. One such word, is success. Dictionary.com defines success as,"the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like."For the majority of people this definition may be perfectly sound and applicable, but do all people require some sort of honor or reward to consider themselves successful? This is a question that I first started thinking about senior year of high school. In the fall of my senior year I was awarded the "student athlete of the month" award for my school. This "honor" (which is in quotes because, given my small school, the award was not necessarily as highly competed for,)came along with a an interview for the local paper. Sitting down with the local sports columnist,Thom Randall, I had a relatively good idea about the questions that would be asked, and my general responses to them. Towards the end of the interview however I hit a bit of a snag when I was asked, "where/what do you want to be when you turn 70?" Perplexed, I sat back and took a little time to think, which after about 5 minutes of awkward silence, lead pretty much no where. The reason I couldn't answer the question was because, as a high school senior, I could see about a million possibilities that would each make me happy, and frankly, I just couldn't even come up with a first choice. So as I perceived that the interviewers patience with my silence was beginning to fade, I did my best to answer. I told Mr. Randall that I had absolutely no idea who, what, or where I want to be when I was 70. Instead I just had one goal. When I turn 70 my only goal is to be able to look in the mirror and be proud of what I've done and who I am. Now this may seem obvious but to me it was a revelation, success can't be measured by the standards of others, or in monetary gains. Success is different for each person, so to find that success the search must be inward, not outward.

The real benefits of starting your bucket list early

The most common theme in this blog is starting each of your life goals early on. For some of these goals it is obvious why it would be important to start them early in your life, but even for those where the necessity to start early is not so apparent, starting you bucket list early allows one to achieve goals they may have thought unreachable. With this in mind my next goal is again and ongoing quest, but one with the potential to completely change a persons life. Choosing a career path is a choice that is often times made only once in a persons life, but still is one of the most important choices a person can make. Kids begin thinking about what they want to be when they grow up pretty much as soon as they can talk. Many kids want to be firefighters, police officers, or astronauts. Personally, when I was younger, I wanted to be an archaeologist. Now this seems to be a weird choice for a 5 year old kid to make, but it was supported by my parents who bought me at home archaeology kits, and taking me to "dig sights," where I joined a bunch of other kids in "excavating" some smaller bones and shells. As I got older my interests strayed from archaeology and I decided this might not be my future line of work. The importance however is that with my parents support I was, even at a young age, able to look into my potential choice and evaluate it accordingly. Given the support of my parents and family I was able to make the choice to change plans completely on my own, not for a lack of support, but for a lack of desire. Choosing a career may seem to be a one time choice but that is the very reason one should look into this choice early. During high school I was "sure" that I wanted to be a doctor working in the marine core. As I progressed through school I became more and more sure of my decision, until that is, that I found out that the Marines do not have a medical program and instead use the medical staff of the navy. Upon discovering this I realized that this was not the right choice for me. Coming into freshman year of college I "knew" that I, like my father, wanted to be an attorney. This too has warped and changed over time. Now I realize that I do not know yet what I really want to do. But what I do know is that I can not and will not stop looking at different options until I find the one that truly makes me happy. This is a goal that although obvious, is possibly one of the most important on this list.

Be Adventurous With Your Ears

The last blog brought to light the idea that some goals need not be merely single events but instead are can be lifetime goals. Keeping this in mind my next goal is also a lifetime goal, with the aim of discovering what truly makes one happy. The potential of music in the world has been recognized extensively, but perhaps one of my favorite quotes about music comes from Aldous Huxley when he said, "after silence, that which come closest to expressing the inexpressible is music."  This quote does a good job of expressing the profound effect that music seems to have on humanity. 

The effect music has on people is not completely universal, and thus we see the need for different genres in music. I, for example, can't stand to listen to country. Whether its the (often times) depressing lyrics or just the style of the music, country is just one genre I have trouble enjoying. This is perfectly ok and is part of the reason that music is so wonderful. Even though I don't like county, there is a huge amount of different music out there and it has been easy for me to find artist after artist who is able to evoke the emotions to which Huxley alludes.

The life goal in this post is similar to the last. Over the course of one's life I think it is important to give different styles of music a fair chance. Similarly to trying new foods, trying new music is not always going to be successful. This is an important point to note so that during the course of achieving this goal one does not get too frustrated when they come across music that they do not enjoy. The very wording of Huxley's quote shows the necessity of music in order to reach this certain type of satisfaction. By being able to "express the inexpressible," music fills a niche that would never be able to be filled otherwise. 

Be Adventurous With Your Mouth

This entry is a less concrete goal than any of the previous, but is instead a goal that continuous throughout life. My mom likes to remind me that when I was a kid my "life motto" used to be "give food a chance." Although it may have been just a little kids silly phrase, I still like to live by that motto. I like to and would like to continue to try many different kinds of food that I come across. To this day I have yet to try some of the more exotic foods such as alligator, ostrich, or even guinea pig, but I have yet to refuse to try any food in front of me.
More common foods such as sushi and eel were my first steps in exploring new taste buds. Trying however does not imply liking in all circumstances. I found I love sushi, but could barely swallow one bite of eel. I will however try eel again next time I see it. Your taste buds "recycle" themselves every 7 years so I always am willing to "give food [another] chance" every so often.
This is a goal every person can easily undertake without much effort. Being adventurous and trying new foods can help you to find things that may become your new favorite foods. The steps don't have to start big, even buying "weird" fruit in the grocery store like horn melons (which have seeds like a pomegranate but taste vaguely of cucumber) can start you on the right path.

Be Able to be Independent

The next life goal on my bucket list has two functions. It both gives a one knowledge and skills that could help them in the future, it also lets one take another step in self realization. My next goal is one I have already somewhat completed. I would like to be knowledgeable enough to be able to survive a semi-extended period in the wilderness on my own. In my steps towards this I have already done a decent amount of camping and hiking and have become relatively proficient in some of the associated skills such as building fires in the rain, cooking using only a campfire and meager supplies, and navigating unknown woods at night using a compass. I would like to further my skills and at some point complete a 3 day 4 night camping trip on my own.

Camping by yourself is a very interesting experience. I have thus far only taken one night trips on my own, but even those are extremely rewarding. Spending 24 hours in complete isolation allows one much time for thought and is one of the most relaxing things I have ever done. Waking up and hiking, and getting to see the sun rise over the Adirondacks gives the experiences not only instrumental, but intrinsic value.

Learning wilderness survival skills help one to be prepared in the worst of conditions. Albeit the chances of a zombie Apocalypse may be low, you never know when you'll find yourself stranded and must survive a night on your own. Being comfortable and calm in these situations is the most vital asset you can have, and ironically being comfortable and the ability to stay calm come only with practice and experience.