I am suspicious of any definition of success that requires everybody to arrive by the same route. Some people build careers linearly. Some collect interests like infinity stones. Some need accommodations. Some build a life around the things their brain does exceptionally well and outsource, automate, or aggressively avoid the things it absolutely does not. I support all of the above.
We celebrate outcomes while pretending everybody produced them the same way. Maybe there are six alarms. Maybe every appointment goes into the calendar immediately because otherwise it has entered another dimension. Maybe the person who appears exceptionally prepared is exceptionally prepared because experience taught her what happens when she tries to “just remember.”
Support does not cancel competence. Glasses do not make somebody less capable of reading. A calendar does not make somebody less responsible. An accommodation does not erase skill. Medication does not take the exam for you.
A life that works counts
There is no prize for making everything unnecessarily difficult. If your version of success includes quieter environments, unconventional routines, more recovery time, assistive tools, a career pivot, or refusing to measure your life against somebody else's timeline, it still counts.
And if the route looks a little unconventional? Good. At least the scenery is interesting.