To my 17yo (and future) self

When I was 17, I decided to evaluate myself at 25. I wanted to see where I stood, mentally, physically, academically and professionally. And now, that I am a month away from 25, at the time of writing this. I realise, or at least I like to remind myself, that success by societal definition isn’t a true success.

There’s a part of me that would probably never accept it. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, success is “the achieving of the results wanted or hoped for”. But in a more societal context, the Britannica Dictionary defines success as “the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame”. The latter definition is something we have all been exposed to in one form or another. Whether we read about entrepreneurs making a dent in the world, follow sports teams/athletes, or watch celebrities on TV, their careers are judged by this definition.

But “success”, does not and should not matter. In a recent interview with Mikel Arteta (quoting from the Arsenal website), when asked about what his main objective is now, he cut straight to the chase: “To win - it has to be that. It has to be that aim, but understanding that we have to enjoy the process. We have to be able to be the best version of ourselves every single day to achieve that.” He continues, “The outcome, we can’t control it. The process of every single day doing the right thing, thinking out of the box, our commitment, our determination, how we can win matches from every angle in the game, outside the game, our determination - our vision, that has to be every single day at the front. Then, the end result, we want it.”

Our struggles often are a product of our ambition. Ambition is improvement, but satisfaction is acceptance.

Our focus should be on the here and now. The struggle, the reward, the opportunity, the loss, the love, and the moment before us deserve our complete attention.