By: Hawi Bussa

Success used to have a very clear face. A serious job. A stable salary. A home with a nice yard. A partner and a predictable routine. You know. The respectable path. The path your parents could point to and say, now you are doing well.

But somewhere between burnout, panic attacks, climate anxiety, layoffs, and the internet showing us twelve thousand different alternative lifestyles every morning before 10am, our generation quietly whispered something very bold. What if we do not want that version of success.

And here is the surprising thing. It was not rebellion for rebellion’s sake. It was not a dramatic declaration of independence. We simply realized that a life that looks perfect on paper can feel painfully empty in reality.

So we started redefining success from the inside out.

Now success looks like waking up without that terrible stomach knot. It looks like friendships that nurture your spirit. It looks like loving the person you are becoming. It looks like building a life that feels like you, rather than a life that would make your aunt impressed at the next holiday.

This shift is often misunderstood by older generations. They see us resigning from high pressure jobs and think we have commitment issues. They see us traveling and think we are running away from responsibility. They see us choosing creative careers and think we lack ambition.

The truth is that we are unbelievably ambitious. Possibly more ambitious than ever before. We just want a life that is worth living. We want peace that is not temporary. We want futures that feel sustainable for our nervous systems.

Many of us are quietly choosing therapy. Choosing better sleep. Choosing communities that match our values. Some of us are finding God again, not through tradition, but through genuine hunger for meaning. Some of us are learning that being available for joy is also a metric of success.

We are no longer impressed by an expensive watch if it comes with a miserable spirit. We are no longer impressed by an expensive car if the person driving it is exhausted, lonely and numb.

We are much more impressed by someone who wakes up excited to live their life.

We are learning that the point is not perfection. The point is alignment. The point is feeling at home in your own soul. The point is designing a life that feels true.

This generation is redefining success to include flourishing, not only surviving. And maybe that is the most radical shift of all. Because a fulfilled life is not loud. A fulfilled life is honest.

And the most successful people today are the ones living in a way that their future self will thank them for.