What Does Success Mean To You?
Merriam-Webster defines success as a “favorable or desired outcome”. What does success mean to you though? Let’s explore! To get clarity around what success means to you, here are two exercises you can complete:
1. Think about what success means to you.
Take a moment to identify your deal breakers—the things that you need in life to feel successful. Use caution though, as many people focus on the things they want and not the things they need. For example, you might want a big house and a nice car but you don’t need them to feel successful.
Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to clarify what success means to you:
- What are my emotional needs?
- What does fulfillment at work look like?
- How do I feel socially connected?
- What are my values?
- What do I want to be remembered for?
2. Visualize what success means to you.
In addition to thinking about success, it can be helpful to visualize it. Get a blank piece of paper. Take 15 minutes to start writing words, symbols or pictures of what success looks to you. First, focus on your immediate or near future ideas of success. Then, if you feel inspired, look at your whole life, and start to document what a successful life looks like to you.
(Re)Defining Success?
Now that you have a general idea of what success looks like, let’s take a moment to redefine it.
Instead of only looking to the future for success, you can also learn from the past. What are the things you’ve done in the past that made you feel a sense of success? Ask yourself the following questions:
- Where have I already been successful in my life?
- What lessons have I learned from those experiences?
- What was not successful and what can I learn from those experiences?
Now, think about how it would feel to find success in the present. Success can be measured by what engages and energizes you every day.
Focus on the process and progress, not just the outcome.
Do you sometimes feel like “society’s” definition of success leaves something to be desired?
Well, success is unique for all of us. We are all striving to achieve different goals in our lives based on our talents and values. Even if we achieve something we are proud of, our opinions about the situation may vary based on how we compare our achievements to what others are doing.
Not only does comparison impact our perception of success, fear is a major impediment to success as well!
Have you ever set a goal just to try to “keep up” with others? Or, have you kept your goals small or avoided them entirely just to avoid failure?
What if you accepted who you are while simultaneously holding space to become the best version of yourself?
If your only goal in setting goals is to achieve them, then you’re holding yourself back! Instead, think of what it would be like if the intention of setting a goal was for you to develop your skills by learning from the process?
Yes, I realize this may sound a bit crazy but just ponder that idea for a moment – my purpose for setting goals is about what I can learn and how I can continue to better myself by analyzing the process of working toward achieving the goal, not just goal achievement.
By focusing on the process of working toward the goal and process made, instead of only the outcome, you are prioritizing long-term achievement instead of short-term gains. This process develops both mindset and behaviors that will serve you throughout your lifetime.
If you put forth effort, but do not achieve your goal, you’ve still developed qualities and characteristics which will enable you to consistently achieve your goals moving forward. This mindset takes away the ability to fail. You cannot fail.
How to set yourself up for success.
Setting short- and long-term goals are both equally important. Your short-term goals are daily or weekly tasks that align with your longer-term goals. I often encourage my clients to set annual goals and break them down into quarterly goals. Looking at 90 days instead of 12 months is far more manageable and exponentially increases the likelihood of success.
When setting these bigger goals, it is important to give yourself time and space away from your daily life and business tasks. Really allowing yourself to dream about what you want the near future to hold…and the steps you need to take to make those dreams happen.
Then, you start to focus on the daily habits that will set you up for success. This is where you are focusing on the progress made each day. You do not have to wait 90 days to measure success, you can check in each day to ask yourself what went well and what you need to work on tomorrow. This is not a time for judgment! It is an opportunity for curiosity and reflection.
Focus on your success story!
Success means different things to each of us. That’s why identifying what success means to you is so important. At Ancorio, Dr. Stephanie begins your success story by helping you identify your personal strengths and professional capabilities. Then, we will work together to clearly define what success means to you and how to get there. With your newfound clarity, you can set goals that will help you achieve success without sacrificing your wellbeing.
