Everyone has a different idea of success, no matter what is strived for in life.

Whether we continuously search for money, power, happiness, or love, our personal choices, the actions we take, and the relationships we choose to invest time and energy in, will determine whether we successfully reach our goals. Some people spend entirely too much time focusing on one category such as money or love and forget to endow the quality time needed to create strong bonds with family members and friends. They exhaust themselves in one area of life and then struggle to find happiness in other areas.

There are character choices that define the person we will become on the road to success. Does that mean we must be perfect to obtain success? Surely not; no one is that pure or lucky. However, learning how to live like a survivor rather than a victim is a choice that one has to make to overcome roadblocks in life. No matter what the case might be, there will always be someone else near you who suffers in the same respect or maybe even more intensely than you. Making the wise choice to demonstrate integrity and listen to your conscience when deciding what to do is very important. Choosing what seems to be the right decision, even when it is not the easiest choice to make, is very admirable.

There are actions that are created based on choices an individual makes each day. Some choices can haunt a person for the rest of his or her life, if allowed. Yet, gaining the strength to continue on one’s path to find success is very crucial to one’s mental, physical and emotional well-being.  Showing resilience and a persistence to bounce back from failure and learn lessons that will lead to a brighter future is always the better choice. Some people think life isn’t fair and circumstances are too great for them to move the mountains necessary to reach their goals in life. To climb the ladder of success, one must stop dreaming and begin doing the things that will make them happy and successful.

Caring for those you spend time with is important. Yet, at some point, people must realize that energy spent in a certain direction for a long period is considered an investment.

If the time and energy spent will not pay off in the long run, then it might be wise for an individual to cut ties with a significant person or hobby that isn’t going to produce positive results and begin making keener choices on what relationships and activities will result in a more valuable gain.

Dr. Sonya Rogers is a certified counselor who lives in Daphne.

Her column regularly appears in The Bulletin.