The dictionary definition of success is accomplishing your goals or the attainment of wealth and/or honors (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/success). Is that how you define it, though?
For some people that will be an emphatic yes, but for others a roll of the eyes and shake of the head is likely.
Here’s the thing – you’re both right. Success is different for everyone. In fact, a campaign by Strayer University was petitioning for a change of the official definition of success. What would be more appropriate then?
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What Is Success?
While you may agree with the idea that success means achieving your goals and attaining wealth, the rest of us may measure it differently. Perhaps contentment speaks to success more than the other achievements.
That doesn’t negate anyone’s personal achievements, nor does it mean wealth attainment isn’t success.
For the happiest life, days should be rigorously planned, nights left open to chance
It merely acknowledges that there is more to a successful life than that. Some people think outside the box and personal goals can be both great and small. So, think about it for a moment. How do you define success? Have you ever really thought about it or have you long accepted the dictionary definition?
For some, true success is in having a family.
While for others that holds no interest. That doesn’t mean one of the people is wrong, it just means that they have different definitions of success. If you want to define success for yourself, here are a few ways you can do that.
Defining Success For Yourself – The Different Levels of Success
Success generally means that it took time (whether it was a week or ten years) to make it happen. However, defining success for yourself could mean that your successes take a single day or even just an hour or two. For you, a successful day could be making time to grab coffee with your friend. Or, it could be carving out 30 minutes to work on a personal project.
That might not seem like a major success, but it is real because it’s a building block. Grabbing coffee with your friend is part of striking a healthy work-life balance. Normally, you wouldn’t consider either of these as a real success, but that’s exactly what they are.
[penci_blockquote align=”none” author=”Norman Vincent”]CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS, YOU CHANGE YOUR WORLD[/penci_blockquote]
Achievements When Defining Success
Let’s start defining your success by focusing on the accomplishments that you are proudest of. Try to come up with three to five of them.
It could be paying off a credit card, leaving your job to pursue your true passion, etc. They don’t have to be huge accomplishments. It could be that they are the ones that make you feel great.
You could have graduated from Harvard University, but you might feel better about successfully quitting your cigarette habit. Once you have your list, is there a common thread emerging?
Is it all about persistence or compassion? Perhaps they required bravery or showed a high level of intelligence. The thread is what can help you define what success truly means to you.
Challenge Assumptions
Don’t stop there. You can create another list, a list of the things that you have achieved that felt much less satisfying than you could have imagined.
It might be that you decided that once you reached a certain milestone you would take yourself to a Michelin restaurant for an epic dining experience.
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Then, it just wasn’t what it cracked up to be. Sure, you’ll have the pride of reaching the milestone, but the thrill isn’t what you thought. When you can understand the typical successes that haven’t brought you happiness, you can more easily define what success truly means to you.
[penci_blockquote align=”left” author=””]Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else[/penci_blockquote]
Your success doesn’t need to revolve around the dictionary definition, nor do you need society at large to validate your success. It’s up to you to define what success truly means for you and you can let that guide you from here on out. I always belief in enjoying whatever it is that I’m doing. And it’s helped me greatly being successful. On that note try, enjoy the process of whatever it is you’re doing and have a blast at it.
