You Need Your Own Definition Of Personal Success

During a mentoring session this week, the issue of defining personal success came up. It’s a  self-evident truth that personal success means different things to different people. Although the mentoring session was centered around career issues, personal values kept coming up. The person I was working with clearly had a conflicts between her values and her definition of career success. So I’m going to suggest the same assignment to you, that I gave to her.

Develop your own definition of personal success. Look at all the major areas of your life. Finding your own definition of success requires you to dig deep within yourself and question your values. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are the things that are important to you? By answering these questions you can come closer to your own definition of success. Please know that this can be a long process. You may not get the answers quickly. But it’s alright — this is a life long journey not an overnight trip. Define your measures of success, one at a time.

Let’s take your career as an example. How would you define success for your career? To be promoted to  manager by a specified time? To make a specific amount of money. To start your own business? To find a position that makes the most of your talent? Once you decide on the definition, dig deep to see what your own strengths and weaknesses are. Which strengths help you achieve the success you desire. Which of your weakness is a barrier, and which goes against your values? If you love coaching your child’s sports team, I guarantee you’ll be miserable taking a position which requires frequent travel. We need to adjust our definition of success to match our values.

Wishing you a larger life,

BB

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