How to Define What Success Looks Like for Yourself
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What does it mean to be successful in life?
This is a complex question and can look very different from person to person. This is determined by your goals, your values, and the people and things that are most important to you in life.
In order to become successful, you must first examine and identify what success means to you.
What Does Success Look Like for You?
To truly define what success looks like for you, you must sit down with yourself and consider your goals, your core values, and your wants and desires. Tune out other people and outside influences.
Your version of success may be very similar to those of other people in your life, or it may be very different. This doesn’t make you, or anyone, right or wrong. It just means that different people have different priorities, and that’s okay!
A good starting point is to envision your ideal lifestyle. This takes a bit of self-awareness. You might begin by asking yourself a series of questions.
What does your perfect day-to-day look like? Is there something you wish you did more often or had more of? Is there something you do or have that doesn’t bring you enjoyment? Perhaps to feel successful, one of the first steps is to increase exposure to things that bring you joy or contentment and minimize the things that don’t serve you.
Having an impact
For many, success means leaving the world better than you found it, even in the seemingly smallest, most miniscule way. This doesn’t mean you have to set out on a global initiative for world peace (although, please do, if that’s a passion of yours!) It can be as simple as volunteering at a local school, speaking out about an important issue at a town council meeting, or teaching art classes or coaching sports for the children in your community.
There are thousands of ways to make an impact, and they vary from person to person. Think about what skills and talents you have to offer, and then find a place or person who could benefit from your expertise. The smile on a student’s face when they master a skill you’ve taught them is a small but satisfying type of success.
Becoming Financially Free
Many people dream of winning the lottery and becoming unbelievably wealthy. While this might be wonderful, it’s very unlikely to happen in most people’s lives.
Instead, consider what financial freedom might look like for you. Figure out an amount of money you’d need to earn to live comfortably, experience activities that are important to you, and save for a financially sound future.
Instead of thinking of money as the end-all, be-all, try to envision it as a useful tool for reaching your goals.
Having a Work Life Balance
It can be very easy to throw off your work life balance. When things are busy and seem never-ending at work, it’s natural to dive headfirst into work, ignoring everything else around you. This happens to all of us from time to time.
The problem comes when you start to mold your identity and sense of self-worth completely around your job. Certainly, work is a big part of our lives, and takes up a large portion of our lives, but you are, and always will be, more than the work you do. Are you part of a family unit, as a parent, child, grandparent, sibling, or spouse? Do you coach youth sports or have a passion for fishing? Are you a devoted pet parent, or a committed crafter?
Maybe these things don’t seem as “important” as your work, but they are essential parts of who you are. You deserve to strike a balance between work, and all the other wonderful things in your life. To many, accomplishing this is a sign of great success.
Accomplishing Goals
We all have goals. Some are big and daunting, while some are small and easily achievable. To set goals for yourself, first identify your core values. What is important to you? What do you believe in?
Once you’ve done this, set your goals. Break the big ones into smaller, more manageable pieces. Work hard to accomplish them, until you’ve reached your ultimate goal.
Being Happy and Healthy
One of the greatest blessings in life is the ability to enjoy health and happiness. Now, some people may have health conditions that make them less than optimally healthy – that’s okay. In these instances, you must work to find happiness despite working through illness, and put in the effort to make your body, mind, and soul as healthy as they can be, despite any lingering health problems.
Giving Back to Others
One way you can succeed is by helping others succeed. Consider volunteering for a charity or helping neighbors in need. If you’re in a position to do so, you can make monetary donations to organizations that are important to you. Alternatively, you can donate your time and skills to help local organizations meet their goals.
Working to help others rise up and succeed is a great way to open your mindset to include others within your definition of success.
Writing Your Own Definition of Success
At the end of the day, it’s up to you to create your own unique definition of success. Maybe some of the suggestions above resonated with you. Maybe they didn’t – that’s okay, too. To really be able to identify and clarify your vision of success, take some time to quietly reflect on what matters to you, and what you want to accomplish in your life.
Have a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset allows you to continue moving forward, instead of getting stuck when something gets hard or isn’t working. It’s about turning setbacks into learning experiences and allowing yourself to move forward.
By focusing on the positives, rather than the negatives, you free yourself from your current situation and allow yourself to look ahead. When you feel stuck, don’t be afraid to ask for help – this isn’t a sign of weakness, but of strength and wisdom. And finally, focus on the journey, rather than the destination. Allow yourself to enjoy the process.
Utilize Goal Setting
Goals are powerful tools that keep us motivated, looking forward, and moving toward a set end point. Without goals, you won’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, which makes it really hard to feel successful.
Set your goals, create a plan, and work diligently on a daily, weekly, and long-term basis to achieve your goals. When you finally reach your destination, you’ll feel a sense of success and accomplishment.
Outside Influences
Be careful about how much power you give outside influences. Just because someone else has a vision for your life doesn’t mean you have to have the same one. Instead, stay true to your inner voice, and block out all the outside noise.
However, if you find other like minded people with similar goals, outside influence can be a positive thing. For example, if you’ve decided to run a marathon, and there’s a local running club, you could begin running with the club and use the other runners in the group as confidantes and inspiration.
How Coaching Can Help You Define Success
Figuring out what success means to you is just one reason people turn to
life coaches like
Jonette Dyer. Jonette is an expert at helping people define and achieve success in their lives. She can help you build up your self-confidence and self-esteem, identify your
core values, and develop a detailed plan designed to help you become successful. Through her various services, including
life coaching,
mental health coaching, and
career coaching, Jonette Dyer can help you transform your life into one you love.
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