1. Not everyone likes you, or your work.

Unless you’re being intentionally malicious and the consensus seems to be that you’re altogether disliked by everyone, having some people dislike you is an incredible sign of personal development. It means you’re clear on your identity, are making a statement with your work, and aren’t willing to compromise who you are in order to appease everyone. Not to mention the fact that when people envy others’ success, they often try to identify reasons why they aren’t that great, or deserving. Let this sort of feedback be a sign that you’re really starting to impact people in a way you haven’t before.

2. You’re becoming a perfectionist.

When you start to get really particular about how you and your work appear, it means you’re getting clearer and clearer on your vision. It means that you are willing to put in the extra labor to create something extraordinary, not just “good enough.” Being a perfectionist in every part of your life will cause you stress. Being a perfectionist in your work will make you a master.

3. You’re learning how to let go.

You’re learning how to be wrong, how to start over when something isn’t going well, how to accept what you cannot change. It is impossible to truly fulfill your potential without experiencing some setbacks and road blocks. Your ability to identify them – and then let them go – correlates to your success overall. You’re focused on your end goal, not making sure everything goes exactly the way you once anticipated it would.

4. You’re not sure what the future holds.

This is perhaps the most counterintuitive sign of success, but the most common. When you are really actualizing potential and pursuing your dreams, security flies out the window. You no longer know what the end of the year holds, forget a 5 year plan or anything like that. The reality is that people latch onto ideas that make them feel safe. You shouldn’t know what you’re doing in the future: life changes too often, and you should always hold space to change your mind, try something new, or ascend to a destiny greater than you can even imagine right now.

5. You’re confronting limiting fears.

You think that because you are doing what you “love” each day, you should be filled with joy and inspiration… only to find that the limiting beliefs, fears and ideas that once paralyzed you are dancing around in your head more than ever. Consider it an incredible thing if you have something so powerful and incredible in your life that you could fear losing it, that you could fear not being good enough for it, that you could fear failing. You are only witnessing fears that were latent, and now you’re being given the opportunity to let them pass.

6. You have to let go of the life you once thought you’d live.

So many people think that reality not living up to their expectations is failure, but really, it is often a sign of success. Life shouldn’t look the way you once thought it would. If things unfold exactly as you anticipated, you have not taken risks, gone on adventures, or done any significant work on finding who you really are and what you really want. Your concept of the “ideal life” will evolve over time; honor each version.

7. You’ve changed as a person.

When you look back on the person you were just a year or so ago, it should be surprising even to you how much you have changed and how different you are as a person. Though the core tenets of your personality will likely withstand over the years, when you change your life to fulfill your dreams, your work ethic, your habits, your preferences, your hobbies and your mindset will shift dramatically.

8. You realize success isn’t everything.

Perhaps the wildest sign of them all is that when you start to become truly successful, you also start to realize how little it matters. You will start to realize that it is not the answer to your problems, and that you also value the people in your life, your down time, and your ability to enjoy your days. True success is realizing that success is not everything people think it is, and it is a privilege to be able to know that.