“Don’t forget me when you are successful,” I jokingly told my friend after sharing my experience of being a partner of a law firm upon my friend’s request.

“Define ‘success’,” my friend said.

I paused for a moment and thought about what success would mean to me.

My reply: To have autonomy and be at peace with myself.

There is more satisfaction in having the autonomy to decide and drive projects compared to having to get the green light to proceed each time.

Getting career advice from others is good but ultimately, I am responsible for my own career. So, it makes sense that I should take control and be able to have control over my own career.

At the end of the day, I want to be at peace with myself. I don’t want to be tormented with thoughts of “what if”, “should have done this” or “should not have done this”.

Each of us may define “success” differently from other people. The definition may change throughout various stages of our career.

What matters is that it is your definition of success (and not someone else’s) that you are striving towards.

I have this quote on my motivational wall, but I don’t know to whom it should be attributed to:

“The best thing you can do for yourself when it comes to your career is to decide what feels right for you. Do take advice from others as these can be invaluable. But ultimately this is your life, so in the end choose whatever that makes you motivated, driven and ultimately happy.”

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This post was first posted on Linkedin on 16 May 2022.