Success is often thought of as a person, place, or thing — a tangible destination we can all see in front of us. And that’s not a flawed approach to it at all. After all, there is no one way to be successful.

Success is often defined by what other people think — it can be easy to set yourself up for failure if you look to external factors and influences for success.

Success is a uniquely personal experience, and it’s important to define your own terms. What do you value most? Is it money, meaning, power, recognition, or something else entirely? Once you have a clear definition of success in mind, the next step becomes very clear.

There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to defining success. “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it,” says Maya Angelou. “For me, success is not a public thing. It’s a private thing. It’s when you have fewer and fewer regrets.” says Toni Morrison.

The important thing is to define your own terms and make sure you have a clear idea of what you’re working for. Once you know what you’re aiming for, use that to define the trajectory of your life.

Success is relative. What one person considers success, another person considers a starting point. And that’s OK! You don’t have to define success for yourself in terms of financial or professional gains.

Instead, consider success as a range of experiences and outcomes that are meaningful to you. For example, you might define success as the ability to be happy at work and in your relationships with friends and family.

Or, you might define success as being able to hold down a steady job and provide for your family. However you choose to define success, make sure it’s something that matters to you!

When you start your journey towards success, it can be hard to know where to start. And that’s OK! Feeling overwhelmed is normal, especially when you’re just starting. But don’t let this overwhelm keep you from making progress.

Instead, take things one step at a time and focus on what’s most important to you right now. As you learn more about yourself and your goals, you can start making adjustments along the way that will help get you closer to your goal of success.

No matter what the specifics may be for you, think about the question of success on your own terms. When you know what success means to you, it becomes easier to work toward it. It lays a better foundation for designing the life you want.

Success is taking full control over your life

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” — Bruce Lee

One of the most common barriers to success is an unbalanced definition of success. Some people define it too narrowly, while others define it too broadly. For example, some people might define success as making lots of money. Others might define success as happiness.

If you want more out of life, define what you need to

If you don’t know what success means to you, people will define it for you and expect you to fit into their definition of success.

It can be tempting to compare yourself to others if you don’t know where you are headed. Don’t lose sight of what makes you unique.

Instead, take the time to think about what defines success for you. Is it fame or notoriety? Is it financial or social status? Whatever it is, make sure that your definition aligns with your goals.

“Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you’re capable,” says John Wooden.

To achieve what you want, your definition must match your actions — if they don’t, you may need to adjust them. Either way, continue to work toward what you want for yourself, not what society expects of you.

Like most things in life, defining success on your own terms is a process that takes time and effort. You’ll have to figure out what’s important to you and then figure out how you will get it.

If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to find a career path that meshes well with your values and goals. But even if you don’t find a perfect fit right away, it’s never too early to start working towards your goals anyway.

Make success a way of life

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” — Benjamin Franklin

Success is a big word that means many different things to different people. And like most words, it’s not easy to define precisely.

One thing is certain, however: to be successful, you need to set goals and a proactive action plan for achieving what you want. This might sound obvious initially, but it’s surprising how many people fail to lay the essential foundation.

So before you decide what success means to you, make sure that you’ve thought through the details and specific actions you have to take to get what you want.

And remember: there is no “one size fits all” definition of success. Sure, there are some broad categories — such as financial success or professional success — but each person has their own direction in life.

What’s more important than anything else is finding out what success means to you and pursuing your own path. If you can make it a way of life, you are on to something meaningful.

For a successful life, pursue your own true north. And when you finally get what you want, or are on a meaningful journey, be happy for you. Don’t seek validation. “The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you,” Bette Midler once said.

This article originally appeared in Medium.