One thing I suffer from is rolling and regular mid-life crises. I often suspect that this is because I have never had one great skills beyond all others. I am OK at many things, and this is reflected in me learning something – tap dancing, sky diving, surfing – but never pursuing it until I am superbly proficient. Someone once commented to me that I am a “jack of all trades, master of none”. It was a passing observation and not intended to offend, but has nevertheless stuck with me. Mainly, because it’s true.

I’m going through an especially difficult period at the moment, where I am trying put my life and career in perspective. Should I be disappointed with the place I am in my life today? Have I failed by not developing and executing a plan for my life?

These questions – amongst others – have haunted me. But recently, my thoughts have turned to why I should feel anything negative about my middle-class working life with a good dose of charity work thrown in. Because what, really, is the definition of success.

My trusty Oxford Dictionary tells me that success covers one of:

1. The accomplishment of an aim or purpose,

2. The attainment of fame, wealth or social status,

3. A person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains fame, wealth.

Having never established a plan for my life – not in terms of where I would be in ten years time, how much money I would earn or whether I would be on the cover of magazines (airbrushed of course, and for good reasons rather than the attainment of notoriety), perhaps I have no right to analyse whether I am a “success”. Further, would a bloodbath up the corporate ladder really make me feel “successful”, given my moral compass is (annoyingly) set to relatively high?

In comparison to the where else I could be, is living a moderate, reasonably kind existence a success? I work, I recycle responsibly, I donate to various charities, I try to maintain awareness of current affairs and genuinely appreciate being born in a wonderful country that offers me the benefits of a stable, democratic western society. Is being a contributor to society in this sense a success in itself?

In terms of career, I have recently come to the conclusion that changing careers and not making my way to the top of any single corporate ladder is not a bad thing. Perhaps this is what makes me sane, and perhaps it what keeps all us “jack of all trades” happy. And, surely, happiness is part of success?