Succeeding From Desire vs. Succeeding From Survival

Wanting to Succeed vs. Feeling Like You Have To

I recently had a thought drop in that felt simple, but powerful:

Some people succeed because they want to.
Some people succeed because they feel like they have to.

When I sat with it, I realized how deeply this speaks to soul alignment, intuition, and the way we’ve been conditioned to measure our worth.

Many of us were taught - directly or indirectly - that our value comes from what we do, what we achieve, how productive we are, or how well we fit into society’s expectations. Success becomes something we chase out of obligation rather than desire. We strive not because our soul is calling us forward, but because we feel pressure to prove ourselves, to survive, or to belong.

And while that path can lead to accomplishments, it often comes at the cost of alignment.

When success is rooted in wanting—not needing—it feels different in the body. It feels expansive rather than heavy. It comes from intuition, curiosity, and a quiet inner knowing that says, this is mine to walk. This is the kind of success that aligns with the soul, because it isn’t motivated by fear, comparison, or external validation.

“Sometimes moving toward our soul alignment and highest self feels lonely because it’s not always what we humans do naturally. It’s easy to get caught in the narrative of ‘fitting in.’ But the cost of fitting in often keeps us from living our truth.”

This is where many people feel the tension. Following intuition doesn’t always make sense to the mind. It doesn’t always earn applause. In fact, it often pulls us away from the familiar paths others expect us to walk.

Henry David Thoreau captured this beautifully when he wrote:

“It’s not that we love to be alone, but that we love to soar, and when we do soar the company grows thinner and thinner until there is none at all. We are not the less to aim for the Light of the summits, even though the multitude does not ascend.”

Soul-aligned paths can feel lonely at times—not because something is wrong, but because you are choosing depth over conformity. You are choosing truth over fitting in. And while the crowd may thin, what you gain is clarity, authenticity, and a sense of inner peace that no external approval can replace.

If you’ve ever felt like you were succeeding but still felt empty…
If you’ve ever questioned whether you were chasing something because you wanted it or because you felt you had to…
If you’ve ever felt the quiet pull to step off the well-worn path and follow your own knowing…

That’s your intuition speaking.

You were never meant to earn your worth. You were born with it. Success, when aligned with the soul, is simply the expression of who you already are—not proof of who you’re trying to be.

Sometimes alignment looks like slowing down.
Sometimes it looks like disappointing others.
Sometimes it looks like walking alone for a while.

But it always leads you closer to yourself.

And that is the kind of success that lasts.