There’s a lot of pressure. We emphasize succeeding in our society. We want to do well in our career, have happy relationships, be a great parent, keep a tidy home, excel in our hobbies, and still find time to relax and just be. Keeping all these aspects of life in perfect balance can be rather demanding, and when we have too much demand we can tend to be harder on ourselves – especially if our progress is slower than we expect.

The power of positivity can always strongly influence your every day life, starting with your thoughts. When you are feeling down, like you aren’t succeeding in life, here are 10 reasons why you are! Remind yourself of the list as often as you need. You can never have too much inspiration.

10 Reasons You ARE Succeeding in Life:

1. You keep going, even after the challenges.

It can be easy to say, “I could never make it through this.”

The reality of life is that difficult moments happen to all of us.  Success does not mean that there’s a void of these trying times, it just means that you’ve decided to forge through them with resolve.  Every time you’ve stood back up and brushed yourself off as best as you could, you realized that it wasn’t long before the struggle was behind you and you were back on course.  It’s ok to stumble as you continue to make small steps toward success.

Keep this mentality moving forward and remember your resilience – you can bounce back again and again!

2. You grow stronger on the inside.

Experiences may not have always had the most positive result, but whether you realized it or not,  every one of these has increased your inner strength.  You’ve grown into who you are so that you could take today’s challenges head on.  As a stronger, wiser person, you can begin to see every outcome as an opportunity.  You see your experience as a teacher and know that with all lessons in life, there is always a takeaway.  Sometimes it’s victory and sometimes it’s strength – but your inner strength always continues to grow from these lessons.

3. You decide to love others.

Choosing love is the first step to success in any situation and an ability you always have on hand.  As you close the gate on hate, you begin to see the opportunities that love brings into view and how much easier it is to find success in the present moment.

As you choose to allow more love for yourself and others, more positive energy surrounds your experience, continuing to lift you higher and higher.

4. You recognize your accomplishments.

Feeling down because you are not where you expect to be is common, and it keeps us striving to do better, but you know it’s not a place you want to get stuck.

When the feeling sets in that you’re falling short of the goal, you remember the previous accomplishments you’ve had so far. You switch your focus from the lack by reminding yourself about all of the good things you have done and are doing right now. Celebrating and paying attention to previous success (in even the small things) helps maintain a better positive mental attitude.

This is a great exercise to practice especially before bed (instead of worrying). You’ll find you fall asleep easier and it’s a habit that leads to more success.  The dominant thoughts you have before bed replay in your mind at night, and since your thoughts help create your future, it’s important to have positive ones.

5. You follow your own path as much as you can.

Intuition guides us all through our path in life.  Recognizing your individual calling and making the decision to stray from the herd and blaze your own trail is what makes big differences in your own outcome. In fact, it’s vital in succeeding.

If you feel like you’re being singled out, remember that the path to your best life is unique, and continuing on it, regardless of what the “normal” route to success may be, is just as good as anyone else’s.  Richard Branson is a perfect example of this.  His path has been anything BUT normal, but his success is apparent.

6. You work on overcoming fears.

Overcoming fears doesn’t always come as easy as some people make it sound, and you’re aware of the fact.  But once again, you see the importance of progress over perfection.  If swimming isn’t your thing, dipping your toes in the water as a first step is every bit as important as going at it alone in the open ocean.  Future daredevils don’t jump the Grand Canyon in their very first practice, and you understand that you’re not failing at releasing the fear if it’s not completely gone on the first attempt.

Keep taking your small steps and know that with each one, you’re closer than you were yesterday.

7. You respect yourself.

There are more than a few unsavory ways to find money, fame or success.  When you respect yourself and your values, you see that your path to success can still come just as easily.  As you remain “in alignment” with what feels good to you, a clear conscience becomes even more valuable than the superficial reward of turning a blind eye to your own self-respect.

8. You are learning to love yourself more.

We talk often about the importance of loving yourself. We aren’t talking about egotistical, selfish “love”. We’re talking about real, true healthy love for who you are and the unique gifts you bring to the world.  The essence of your being is amazing. And, it’s an important part of succeeding.

Succeeding in life - self love

When you get to know that person you should embrace it and enjoy it. Let go of the tiny, pesky imperfect traits that bother you and hug yourself for the magnificence that you possess inside. Love it so much that you aren’t afraid to show it to the world. You WANT to be yourself no matter who you are around. In fact, being yourself attracts more people to you. People are naturally attracted to loving, happy, genuine people.

9. You release judgement.

Letting go of the urge to judge isn’t something that comes easy for everyone, but you know that passing judgment onto another is not going to get you any further than where you were.  There is a great freedom that comes in “minding your business”, and you can decide to take full advantage of the moment to be your best self, not someone else’s.

10. You remain grateful

The difference-maker in your life comes from the daily gratitude reminders you give yourself.  Whether it’s one, three, or a hundred reasons to be grateful, you see what you do have rather than what you don’t.  An optimistic outlook not only turns your perspective around, it’s what ultimately helps change your life.

Final Thoughts on Measuring When You Are Succeeding

Write at least three things you’re grateful for in a notebook each morning.  Review at the end of each month and you’ll quickly see how the things you are grateful for have grown.

Next time you’re feeling hard on yourself, remember to revisit this list as often as you need – you can never have too many resources (even when you’re already succeeding!)