What Is Success?

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded.

-- [Attributed to] Ralph Waldo Emerson

I remind myself of this on days like today when success feels like it should be perfection in everything I try to accomplish: getting As in all my classes, superior performance at work, being productive and on top of it all, not needing the support of others to get through these sorts of days... I think I like Emerson's version better.