Success Has No Expiration Date

I’m very hard on myself.
Maybe you are, too.

We can sometimes feel as though our worth is determined only by the last thing we created. How good the idea was and the impact it had. Perhaps we put something out in the world that gained some traction. Or even won an award.

That success can feel fleeting.
Like there’s an expiration date.
And the longevity is proportional to the greatness of the thing. So winning an Oscar can last a decade or two. Being included in a list might last 5-10 years. Getting a celebrity endorsement or article about you could be referenced for about a decade. Whereas that Instagram post that only got a handful of likes is not worth talking about more than a few months out.

I realize it’s sort of silly, but it feels true.

Thanks to a friend of mine, I’m starting to shift my perspective. She’s convinced me that success has no expiration date.

Sure, that feeling of temporary success drives my creativity. But that fleeting win also eats away at us.

This is your reminder that success is on your own terms. Define it for yourself. You wanna talk about the Facebook post that got zero likes? Go for it. You’re proud of yourself for that presentation even if no one laughed at your jokes or said “good job”? That’s your right.

Embracing your wins.
Celebrate incremental progress.
Own my success, no matter how small or big.
For as long as you want.

One thing that might help is to shift your language to make the verb into a noun. Make it active and present.

“I have had success” is now “I am successful.”
“I accomplished…” is now “I am accomplished.”
“I have made cool things” becomes “I make cool things.”

That shift might allow me to just be.
To trust in your process.
To not worry that because you haven’t made something this week or portfolio-worthy this year or award-winning the last 3 years that somehow… you have become less successful.
Or accomplished
Or creative.

You are all those these things.
You are a success.

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Caveday is a company aimed at improving your relationship to work. We write regular posts on Medium and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Jake Kahana is a cofounder of Caveday. Sign up for his personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.