Success from Happiness

June 3, 2019Suzanne Smedley

Whenever I create an Instagram post, I use the hashtags #dowhatyoulove #thismakesmehappy and #inspiredbynature

I was listening to a podcast today by ‘Creative Rebels’ and they were interviewing Emma Gannon. One of the subjects they spoke on was what people define success as. This is often determined by what society at large dictates. In many cases success it is measured by things such as the figure in your bank account, your relationship status, if you’re climbing the corporate ladder as rapidly as others, your postcode or whether you’re a homeowner or not.

This past weekend was my 10-year high school reunion. At the mark of such an occasion, you can’t help but take stock of what you’ve ‘achieved’ in the past decade. All those landmarks seem to be highlighted, and even more so the lack of such. Your twenties can be a time of incredible growth, but often as a result of real struggle. I know I’ve wrestled with the idea of what success has meant for me.

David Speed and Adam Brazier from ‘Creative Rebels’ chatted about the importance of actually just doing what makes you happy in order to be successful. Figure out what that is, go for it and then you can create your own model of what success is for you. That may be in an office job in the city, but it may also be as a chef, graphic designer or writer. Or something entirely different altogether. If you are doing something that makes you happy and you are giving it your absolute all, making it the best it can be, then you are succeeding.

In recent years, this has become more and more apparent to me. Having struggled for many years with mental health issues, I can not stress what I capture in my hashtags enough ‘Do What You Love’ (which for me is ceramics) because in my case ‘This Makes Me Happy’. When I am creating ceramic jewellery, which has been ‘Inspired by Nature’, I am simply that, happy. And that is invaluable. If I can pursue ceramics and do it to the best of my abilities, then I will have succeeded. I am not a failure because I don’t have a mortgage, a six-figure salary or a diamond ring. I have found something that I love, and I am actually doing it. I want to encourage you to do the same.