Ripples of I – Blog 107: Success is a story, not a result

Every Wednesday, I share one article made up of three little ripples: 

What if real success isn’t the result we see, but the context we choose to acknowledge? 

One Inspiration 

Yes! Another article about figure skating. It’s winter, it’s my favourite sport, and right now a lot of my inspiration comes from the ice. 

Last week, the Figure Skating European Championships took place. For many European skaters, this was actually their first competition of the season. Back in September, an unusually large number of athletes were dealing with injuries. Because this is an Olympic season, many made the difficult call to skip early competitions altogether, choosing rest and recovery over rushing back too soon. 

So last week marked a return. Many skaters were stepping back onto competitive ice after months of injury, rehabilitation, and uncertainty, all fighting for a chance at continental glory. 

What fascinated me most happened after the music stopped. 

As these returning skaters finished their programs, their reactions revealed completely different inner narratives.  

Some celebrated with wide smiles, fists in the air, joy and relief written all over their faces, even if their skating was not perfect. Others stood frozen - frustrated or disappointed, even after clean skates, strong scores, or podium finishes. 

From the outside, the results looked clear. From the inside, something else was unfolding entirely. 

One Insight 

Watching this made me think about how we judge ourselves. How quickly we reduce complex experiences to a single outcome. Did it go well? Did we succeed? Did we meet the standard we had in mind? 

But do we ever really consider the full context? 

One skater might measure success by simply making it through a program. Another might be comparing today’s performance to a version of themselves from years ago, before injuries, pain and setbacks. The scoreboard shows placements and points, but it doesn’t show missed training months, fear, restraint, or the quiet courage it takes just to show up again. 

And this doesn’t only happen in sport. We do it in our own lives all the time. We judge ourselves by outcomes, ignoring how far we’ve come, what we were carrying, or how much effort it took just to get to the starting line. When we focus only on results, we risk overlooking progress - and turning meaningful steps forward into moments of unnecessary disappointment. 

One Invite 

So here’s my invitation - to you, and to myself. The next time you’re quick to judge yourself and feel disappointed, pause. Zoom out. Look at the context. 

• Where were you starting from? 

• What did you overcome just to get here? 

• What counts as a win today, not in some imagined perfect scenario? 

When we acknowledge the full context, we realize that success isn’t always about how it ends, but about everything it took to begin again.