29/06/2025
nag SUCCESS eh! 😁
“Paano ba kasi maging successful?”
Let’s start with this: success is subjective. Your idea of success might not even be considered an achievement by someone else and that’s okay. Just because someone’s driving an expensive car or partying on a yacht every weekend doesn’t mean they’re the blueprint. You can be in a plain shirt and slippers, quietly building the life you want, and still be successful.
That’s called intrinsic motivation, a concept in psychology where your drive comes from within, not from external rewards like clout or praise.
Now, before you chase any kind of “success,” ask yourself: do you even know who you are? Do you know what matters to you? What your values are? What kind of lifestyle actually fits you? That level of self-awareness is crucial. According to Carl Rogers, the father of humanistic psychology, real growth happens when your ideal self and your real self begin to align. But that alignment only becomes possible when you’re honest about what you actually want, not what you were told to want.
Take me for example: I have a big problem with authority. I hate being micromanaged. I work better alone. I can still collaborate, but ideally with just two or three people. I want to wake up when I want, work on my own time, and set deadlines based on my energy, not someone else’s schedule. That’s not laziness. That’s me knowing my operating system.
Next question: who are you surrounding yourself with? The people around you can either expand your vision or shrink it. If you’re constantly around people who gave up on their own goals, you’ll eventually believe that dreaming for something better is unrealistic. That’s social modeling, a theory by Albert Bandura. We learn through observation so observe the right people. Use social media wisely.
Find someone who’s living the kind of life you want. DM them. Ask questions. If they don’t respond, move on and ask someone else. But don’t waste your energy having deep conversations with people who have a defeatist mindset, those who always criticize others but haven’t done the inner work to fix their own lives. Their bitterness isn’t wisdom. It’s deflection.
Then ask yourself: are you doing your part? Are you actually taking consistent, even tiny, steps toward your version of a good life? Growth doesn’t have to be dramatic. Want to write a book? Start posting your thoughts online. Watch how people respond. Adjust. Improve. Repeat. That’s called iterative growth, a process of learning and building through action, not perfection.
And finally, this part might sound personal, but hear me out: is your version of success only about you? I believe a truly fulfilling life isn’t just self-serving. Success should ripple outward. It doesn’t’ have to be wildly extravagant. I don’t organize monthly medical missions, but I do share free, evidence-based health content online so Filipinos don’t have to pay to access basic information. That’s still service. That’s still impact.
Because in the end, success isn’t about how expensive your life looks. It’s about alignment. It’s about being able to say:
“This is the life I chose. This is who I really am. And I can sleep peacefully at night knowing I didn’t abandon myself to get here.”
