Blood sweat and tears, hard work, maximum effort, striving for more, having power, being the best, excelling in all you do, climbing to the top, being famous, always winning, doing whatever it takes, being rich, having the most toys, having an edge, being on top, driven and motivated, having more money, never settling for less, never taking NO for an answer, always dreaming big, never giving up, going the extra mile and the list goes on and on! Do these sound familiar to you? Over the past 9 years in coaching, this is how many of my clients have defined success! While a lot of these are great qualities to have…doesn’t it all sound exhausting?
What does success look like to you? Think about it for a minute…we’ll come back to this question in a bit!
I truly believe each one of us has the ability to define success in our own way, because, SUCCESS and SUCCEEDING, looks different for every single person. You and I may define success differently…which is great! We are all unique individuals, and there are no “cookie cutter” definitions! Thank goodness!
I was thumbing through a book the other day and found a simple, yet wonderful description on what success means, by Blue Mountain Arts Collection. It’s a definition that looks at the bigger picture in life, and I like it so much, I want to share it with you today!
“What Does It Mean To Succeed?” “Most people see success as being rich and famous or powerful and influential. Others see it as being at the top of their profession and standing out from the rest.
The wise see success in a more personal way: they see it as achieving the goals they have set for themselves, and then feeling pride and satisfaction in their accomplishments. True success is felt in the heart, not measured by money and power. So be true to yourself and achieve the goals you set. For success is reaching those goals and feeling proud of what you have accomplished.” –Tim Tweedie
Success is so much more than what we do for a living! It’s about setting and reaching our personal goals, goals we have set for ourselves in every single area of our life, not just in our careers!
The way you can truly be successful or feel like you are succeeding at something, is to take the very first step in the process and… DEFINE WHAT PERSONAL SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE TO YOU! Not the definition you hear from your mother in law, sister, boyfriend, co-worker, spouse or friend. Don’t let anyone take away this valuable privilege, because, this is your life, not theirs!
So here is the question again…WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE TO YOU? Write down a general description in your own words! Is it to be happy, to be content, to be a great mom, to have a successful career, to be a loving spouse or girlfriend, to be surrounded by friends, to be healthy and fit, to live in peace, to have a balanced life, to love and be loved, to have a strong faith or a combination in many areas…the sky is the limit! You decide what success looks like to you!
Let’s say for example, you define SUCCESS as being happy in life, having a great job or career, being an awesome mom and having lots of friends to do things with!
Take the next step by breaking it down even further, so you will have more clarity on what success looks like to you.
- What does being happy look like?
- What does having a great job or career look like?
- What does being an awesome mom look like…and so forth?
- How will I know if I am successful?
When you are clear on your definition of “success and succeeding” … you can then start setting some reachable and attainable personal goals in these areas!
Then go after those goals!
You deserve to relish in your success!
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE TO YOU? I would love to have you share you definition of SUCCESS!
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