“Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
~ Coach John Wooden, Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach
Feeling “successful” is something that I have always struggled with. This may be ingrained naturally by birth order. Many first-borns have that inner desire to climb and climb and climb and climb and when you are done climbing…climb some more. There is no time for a break because there is always climbing. Does any of this sound familiar or is it just me?


In school, you are ranked by number according to your grades. In sports, you are ranked by your performance. On the job, you can be ranked by numbers and statistics. All throughout life, it seems that there is a giant measuring stick to compare your progress to the rest of the world. Once you graduate from high school, it is nearly overwhelming as your pool of people that you are measured against multiplies drastically. No longer are you limited to the couple of hundred from your graduating class; the number spreads to nearly every person on the earth.

Ok, maybe this is a little drastic and over the top…for you. But for some, even if it hasn’t been consciously thought through to this extreme, it is the case. Some resign themselves to the fact that they can never fully measure up and live day by day feeling like their efforts don’t amount to much. It can be overwhelming to try something and realize how much you are still lacking in comparison to others.

The key to success is to do YOUR best and improve each time. A lot of stress can come for me when I look at statistics or forms of measurement and feel like I am just not stacking up. However, if I can focus on the fact that I did my very best and gave my all considering my situation and circumstances then a peace and sense of satisfaction begin to replace the stress.

I have a friend who used to keep a spotless house. I compared my house to her house constantly. She had an toddler and WHITE carpet that NEVER had a stain on it. Her house was spotless. However, the conditions were very different. Her main focus was her house and her child, her husband lived close to his work and was very involved with their child, and her mother-in-law was able and willing to come over and play with the child so that my friend could clean house. My situation was quite the opposite. I had a couple of at-home jobs that I was juggling along with a toddler. When my child was sleeping, I was using that time to get caught up on business. My husband did not work close to home, got home very late, and wasn’t quite up to helping out in the evenings at that point in time. My mother-in-law lived 2 hours away and ran a full-time business of her own. Yet, I constantly compared my house to hers even though the conditions weren’t comparable at all. I did the best that I could do with what I had.

In my boot camp, I have a lady who I would consider VERY successful, determined, and motivated. She came to me needing to lose baby weight and had not worked out in years due to small children at home. She was very committed, very determined, and tried her hardest every time that she was there. She was visibly losing weight and improving in her workouts each time. When she went out of town once, she even asked for workouts that she could do on the road. That is what I call committed! In fact, I have not ever trained anyone that committed who asked for workouts when they could not be physically present for a workout. Yet, she constantly compared herself to the others in the class. After the New Year, we had some new women join the class who were very athletic working out 5+ days a week running, doing Cardio-Kickboxing, and dance classes. These women also did not have younger children that they were juggling. My boot camper compared herself to these ladies when there was not a place for comparison and the variables were out of her control. The backgrounds and situations were totally different. The focus wasn’t on the progress but on her performance in comparison to these other ladies. She felt like she wasn’t doing good enough. However, she is what I consider very successful.

In our society, we place so much emphasis on how we measure up to others. I am a highly competitive person. Board games in my house are a battle of life and death. However, true individual success is doing our best and being our best in every situation.

Proverbs 21:5 says “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” This scripture says nothing about ranking at a certain level before you become prosperous. It says that good planning and hard work will lead to prosperity…for everyone if everyone chooses to plan well and work hard.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8. Paul makes it known in 2 Timothy that you only have to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith to receive the crown of righteousness. It is not reserved for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The winners are the ones who never quit. It is reserved for ALL who give Christ their all.

It is too easy to quit if we begin to compare ourselves to others. If we compare our walk with Paul or even Jesus, we might be tempted to quit, thinking the journey is too hard and we will never “arrive.” However if we just strive to constantly know Christ more, purpose everyday to seek Him more, and live out His will for our lives, we will finish our race.