If You've Hit These 11 Milestones You're Already Truly Successful In Life
Success isn't linear, but certain skills, talents, and achievements are impossible to ignore.
Dean Drobot | Shutterstock If you could envision success or your most comfortable life, what would you picture? Our milestones look incredibly different depending on what we value in life — from quality time with our families, to financial comfort, and endless joy, there are a million different ways we can embody our dream lives.
While our lives might be different than we'd envisioned as kids, the challenges and struggles we've experienced can lead to several milestones that are signs you're already truly successful in life, even if you're caught up in the chaos of daily life or goals you're still working towards. By recognizing the achievements you've already accomplished, you not only boost your own confidence, but relieve some of the anxiety associated with constantly wanting and wishing for more.
Here are 11 milestones you've hit if you're already truly successful in life
1. You have some kind of fulfilling relationship in your life
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Especially in an era hyper-focused on technological connectivity, many people are yearning for social belonging, connection, and intentional communication, fighting the consequences of isolation and loneliness.
According to a study published by Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, the "social cravings" we have yearning for connection often have negative affects on our relationships and emotional well-being.
For people who have some of these fulfilling connections already, at work with their peers, with an intimate partner, or in a healthy community of people they interact with, they've already hit some of the milestones categorizing them as truly successful in life.
2. You're financially comfortable
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Financial stability and success look different for everyone, specifically between age demographics, like a study from the Journal of Family and Economic Issues found. But most people tend to value financial comfort over abundance or freedom.
If you've achieved a level of financial comfort that removes money stress and anxiety from your routine and sets you up to achieve financial goals in the future, you're already truly successful in life.
You have the freedom, comfort, and emotional stability to prioritize other areas in your life, like free time, hobbies, and quality time with family, without the pressure of making more money or trying to make ends meet.
3. You have a space to unwind in
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While many people envision purchasing their first home or moving into their first adult apartment as milestones worth celebrating, having a space that you feel comfortable in is just as powerful for boosting our confidence, general emotional health, and happiness.
Even if other areas of your life are more stressful than you'd like — from navigating a new family to starting a new job — having a calming space to unwind and recharge is something to be proud of.
According to experts from the University of Kentucky, we can actively dismiss burnout, decrease our stress levels, and promote our physical well-being by cultivating peaceful areas in our work or personal spaces.
If you have the freedom to find a space, dedicated solely to yourself to recharge, that's a milestone worth celebrating.
4. You have a stable job
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According to a 2024 report on layoffs, nearly 55% of American workers struggle with job insecurity — riddled with anxiety and stress in their daily lives, not always directly related to their job responsibilities, but partially due to concerns with losing their job or their sole source of income.
Many people struggle with celebrating or appreciating their job roles in the present moment, mostly due to the societal stigma that you should constantly be looking for your "dream job" or committing tons of time to growing at your company.
However, taking time to be present in your current situation, recognizing the comfort, stability and happiness your current role allows you to realize, can help you to understand that you're already truly successful in life.
Whether it's financial comfort, freedom, flexibility or stability, your job doesn't have to be the love of your life or your dream position for you to recognize all the beauty and fulfillment it cultivates in your life.
5. You're confident navigating change and challenge
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Executive and expert on workplace change, Sam Sooialo, argues that people who thrive in challenging situations or life events that spark change often prioritize reflection in their daily lives — examining their own beliefs, values, perceived mistakes, and success on a daily basis.
With communication styles and coping mechanisms that help them to embrace change, many successful people grasp onto new opportunities, cultivate better relationships, and navigate their daily life with a more balanced emotional state as well.
So, if you're confident embracing change or challenging yourself out of your comfort zone, consider that a success that not everyone has. Even if you've only recently gone through a life change or come out the other side of a challenging situation, that's a milestone worth celebrating and a sign that you're already truly successful in life.
You have the tools to succeed, but sometimes we forget to recognize our own personal growth and the genuine perspective we gain from dealing with life's struggles.
6. You're content
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The key to living a fulfilling life, filled with beautiful relationships, comfortable connections, and success, is happiness.
It seems so simple, but when we're content in our daily lives, we're more likely to live in the present moment and truly soak up the gratitude, love, respect, and kindness that's all around us.
While it might feel more like a mindset than a milestone, considering all the things in your life that bring you joy can be a helpful reminder that it's not always easy to just be happy.
We prioritize and cultivate happiness in our lives, in ways that aren't always easy or obvious, so achieving a certain baseline of content is a milestone you can celebrate and acknowledge every day.
7. You don't seek validation from others
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Achieving a sense of security, confidence, and stability in your life isn't entirely cultivated by outward relationships, achievements, and goals — sometimes it comes from the inside.
By setting clear boundaries, feeding into your own confidence, and prioritizing personal time and goals, you ensure that no matter what changes or challenges come your way in life, you're not waiting on someone else to fuel your sense of self worth.
According to marriage and family therapist Jennifer Litner, there's a balance to strike between personal validation and encouragement from others, but it's certainly a life milestone to find the sweet spot.
8. You've found and set high standards
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The key to confidence, growth, and personal development is setting high standards for yourself, according to career and empowerment coach Olajumoke Oyeyemi.
With a clear vision for your future and standards that shape your daily life, setting high standards can ensure you're not constantly ruminating or thinking about what you're "missing" in life, but rather, what you're intentionally looking for.
When you've reached a point where you're comfortable and confident with your standards, whether they're for a new job, a relationship, or your family dynamics, that's a milestone worth celebrating, because it's no easy feat.
9. You don't view your mistakes as failure
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Being able to take yourself seriously, while also laughing at mistakes, can be a powerful mindset shift for truly successful people in life.
Instead of letting self-doubt and anxiety take over after a perceived failure, spiraling into self-sabotaging tendencies, truly successful people have cultivated a mindset that allows them to see the light in their mistakes, actively improving and growing from their experiences, rather than isolating themselves.
A study published in Academy of Management Perspectives also argues that embodying this kind of humorous and intentional mindset around our perceived failures can be beneficial for cultivating bonds and influencing power dynamics.
When we're more confident in our ability to grow and learn, we're perceived to be more competent and intelligent, helping us to live happier, more fulfilled lives.
10. Other people speak highly of you behind closed doors
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If you commit to helping other people feel heard, respected, and valued — even in passing conversations at work or discussing small matters at home — they're going to remember how you made them feel.
You're already truly successful in life if you have the courage to lead with empathy, making other people feel happy and appreciated, even if it means setting your own anxiety or internal struggle aside for a few moments.
These same people tend to open doors, offer opportunities, and share love with us because of our kindness, even if we're not entirely aware of it.
Consider all the ways someone's kind words about you behind closed doors have added something to your life — from a new friend, to a fresh perspective, or a new opportunity at work.
11. You're comfortable setting and advocating for your boundaries
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Whether it's privacy at home or basic respect in a relationship, truly successful people lead with empathy while also advocating for their own needs.
Even if it's uncomfortable or difficult, they find ways to prioritize their own well-being with boundaries and open conversations, cultivating a sense of security in their daily lives that they can advocate for themselves.
It's something worth celebrating — setting clear boundaries — because they not only help people to feel more empowered in their daily routine, they also set them up for success in every other aspect of their lives, from relationships, to work, and family time.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.