Success: Define Your Own! By Debra Thorsen www.corporaterebels.comMany of us are prisoners of our own success. Maybe we started our careers with a goal of climbing corporate ladder or earning $X per year or ________________ (fill in blank).
We then achieve success, are “respected” by our peers, have a nice big house full of great stuff, take nice vacations….. And yet, we often think, “Is this all that there is?” We have a sense of emptiness inside.
I think many of us experience this “mid-life crisis” because we have borrowed society’s definition of success instead of crafting our own definition of personal success.
Take a moment and write down Definition of Success that has guided your decisions and actions up until now. You don’t have to agree with it, but put down on paper what has been lurking in your mind.
My Current Definition of Success:
Where did you get your current definition of success? From your parents or teachers or spouse? Are you trapped by a definition of success that you don’t even agree to?
It’s time to create your very own personalized definition of success.
Here are some alternative definitions of success for you to consider and reflect upon:
“Too often, people focus only on results. But getting results without learning something or without having fun are incomplete. So is having fun without getting results, or having fun without learning something new to help and empower you in future. Accomplishment is all three: result, personal growth, and having fun.” -Peter L. Hirsch
“There are many aspects to success; material wealth is only one component….But success also include good health, energy and enthusiasm for life, fulfilling relationships, creative freedom, emotional and psychological stability, a sense of well-being, and peace of mind.” - Deepak Chopra
“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained respect of intelligent men and love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for best in others and given them best he had; who life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.” - Bessie Stanley as published in Lincoln Sentinel on Nov. 30, 1905. Mrs. Stanley won $250 in an essay contest by George Livingston Richards Co of Boston, MA