(”Success”; courtesy of aloshbennett)
By not drafting your own definition of success, there’s a high probability that you’re pursuing someone else’s definition. Maybe it’s your parents’ definition of success, or your boss’s, or even society’s definition of what a successful life should look like. Below you’ll find thirty-one phrases that you can mix and match to create your own, unique definition of success. Success is:
1. Making the world a better place.
2. The attainment of wealth, awards, status, and power.
3. Achieving the goals we set for ourselves.
4. Making a difference, if only in one person’s life.
5. To be recognized as one of the foremost experts in your chosen field.
6. To feel loved and understood.
7. Having the love and respect of family and friends.
8. Doing work you love.
9. To laugh often.
10. Having robust health and a high level of energy.
11. Being happy and content in the now.
12. Having enough money to cover monthly expenses.
13. Crossing off every item on your bucket list : to try new things, travel, find hobbies in which you can completely lose yourself . . .
14. Having lots of time for leisure activities.
15. Raising a healthy, happy child.
16. To use up all of the potential that you came to earth with; making the most of your talents.
17. To live an exciting life.
18. Finding work that feels like play.
19. Achieving inner peace.
20. Achieving the right balance between work and family life.
21. Feeling comfortable in your own skin.
22. Having goals that excite you and make you jump out of bed each morning.
23. Adequate shelter, food on the table, health, and a happy home.
24. Going out into the world each day and doing the very best you can.
25. Being able to quit your day job and live comfortably off of investment income.
26. Helping others with your unique talents.
27. Working hard and playing hard.
28. Coming up with a truly original idea and seeing it through to its implementation in the real world.
29. Being true to yourself.
30. Loving another with all your heart and soul.
31. Creating something new and extraordinary.
So, what’s your definition of success?
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Vered - MomGrind 09.17.08 at 1:14 am
I think that achieving inner peace is what I’d like most. Not sure it’s attainable for me, but it;s something I strive for.
Vered - MomGrinds last blog post..Wordless Wednesday: Mona Lisa, Enhanced
Cath Lawson 09.17.08 at 1:35 am
Hi Mare - Success means so many different things to different people doesn’t it?
I guess a lot of people’s vision of success is influenced by the media, as they always tend to subscribe someone who had made a lot of money as being successful.
I have many different goals, so for me, I guess success would be achieving many of those goals and continuing to work on my goals for the rest of my life.
Shamelle -TheEnhanceLife 09.17.08 at 3:20 am
Success takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice and will power.
Shamelle -TheEnhanceLifes last blog post..Sleep Deprived ? 7 Ways To Revive Your Tired Body And Stay Energized After A Sleep Deprived Night
Lance 09.17.08 at 4:39 am
Success is…making my heart sing. Making a difference in this world. And being able to share that all with a supportive group of friends and family.
Lances last blog post..The Impact We Have On Others
ROY @ Let's Celebrate 09.17.08 at 5:06 am
Ms Mare,
Some thougts to think about
# 16 is my fav.
To me:
Success is enjoying the little million things we have, forgetting the things we don’t have.
Success is playing with our own inner-child, forgetting how old we are.
Success isn’t achievement or winning, it’s all about facing the end-wall but still finding a new path.
“May God give you…
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile.”
Cheers!
Roy
ROY @ Let’s Celebrates last blog post..Somewhere Over The Rainbow …
Evelyn Lim 09.17.08 at 7:11 am
Success need not be measured in monetary or career goals. I like it that you included many alternative measures about success and suggested that we should create our own definitions.
Evelyn Lims last blog post..Blessings For Healing
Robin 09.17.08 at 7:14 am
I think that for me, success means feeling that I’m on track. It does not really come from achievements, as they can feel hollow. It comes more from feeling satisfied with what I am doing - and that satisfaction can come in lots of different ways.
Robins last blog post..Insects Versus Mother Theresa
Writer Dad 09.17.08 at 8:05 am
Being able to follow my muse and provide for my family.
Urban Panther 09.17.08 at 9:54 am
I almost have to categorize success. As a mother - knowing my children are beautiful, independent adults, but who still turn to their mom to share the joys and sorrows. Relationship - to love and be loved with heart and soul. Work - to financially support our chosen lifestyle in a job that doesn’t feel like work. Spiritually - to walk with grace.
Andre Kibbe 09.17.08 at 12:37 pm
To be fully, authentically engaged with the world help others engage with it.
Andre Kibbes last blog post..The Multitasking Checklist
Mare 09.17.08 at 4:56 pm
@Vered: I think that inner peace is what we all search for in the end, but a lot of people aren’t sure how to achieve inner peace so they chase after external things such as lots of wealth hoping to find it.
@Cath: “The progressive realization of worthwhile goals . . . ” that’s one of the definitions of success that I came across while I was working on this article.
@Shamelle: How about: success requires discipline and perseverance, as well as narrowing down what you truly want and making sure that you focus on that
Mare 09.17.08 at 5:18 pm
@Lance: I think by saying “making my heart sing” you’re injecting joy into success, and I think that joy is in fact an important ingredient of success.
@Roy: Enjoying the little things, allowing your inner child to come out and play, and always creating a new path . . . those are all beautiful Roy.
@Evelyn: I used to think that success was about career and monetary goals, but now, thank goodness, I know better
Mare 09.17.08 at 5:44 pm
@Robin: I think that inner satisfaction is closely tied to inner peace.
@Writer Dad: Well then I’m glad that you’re muse didn’t run off with the mailman (like John Updike’s poetry muse)
@Urban Panther: I think it’s a good idea to categorize it like you did, so each area of your life gets attended to.
@Andre: I guess that there’s a lot of people who live almost completely in their heads and are not really engaging with the world. You have to truly be in the now in order to completely engage with the world.
@Rita: I think I understand what you’re saying: you’ve ensured that your children will always have each other’s back.
Bamboo Forest 09.17.08 at 7:03 pm
16. To use up all of the potential that you came to earth with; making the most of your talents.
Number 16 really spoke to me. Very few ever reach this level. Nevertheless, something to certainly aspire to.
Bamboo Forests last blog post..Some Bits About Me
Natural 09.17.08 at 8:37 pm
ahhhh, no 8 made me smile…many people, myself included, get up and go to a job we hate.
that’s my goal, one of them, to change that part of my life.
Naturals last blog post..EntreCard Therapy
Mare 09.17.08 at 9:17 pm
@Bamboo: Here’s a quote that’s related: “I do not want to die….until i have faithfully made the most of my talent and cultivated the seed that was placed in me until the last small twig has grown.” –Kathe Kollwitz
@Natural: So how about a definition of success something like: “To take a step every day, however small it may be, toward doing work that I love.”
Karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters 09.17.08 at 9:31 pm
When we define our own success we stop living by other people’s standards. It’s this power that we should never let anyone else hold.
When our neighbor buys a new car I feel a tinge of jealousy. It’s recognizing this feeling and not letting it sweep me away that has helped me stay grounded. I would rather have money saved than own a brand new car to keep up with my neighbor.
Karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matterss last blog post..Active Relaxation
Kelly@SHE-POWER 09.17.08 at 9:47 pm
Mare
Such a big question for me at the moment. Not sure I have a definitive answer that will still be valid next week. But TODAY my definition of success is to:
Help people/Make the world a better place with my unique talents. Raise a happy, healthy child into a free spirited, confident and ethical adult. Find a fulfilling balance between work/self and a close, happy family. Earn a good income and achieve some recognition for writing stories and mentoring writers. Live an adventurous life, connecting with friends around the world. And fulfilling some sense that I have lived up to my potential and truly made the best of this soul and life that I have been given.
The last one is a biggie. I’m all about feeling like I am living up to my potential and being as BIG and GREAT as I can be. I don’t like to settle for average.
Reading this makes me see how hard I make life for myself. I want so much and put so much pressure on, I just get overwhelmed by it all.
Kelly
Kelly@SHE-POWERs last blog post..Note To Self: 28 Ways To Love Your Day
Irene | Light Beckons 09.17.08 at 10:28 pm
Oooh, I love this Lego system you’ve created! My favorite is actually what Urban Panther has listed out. It just spoke to my heart and soul!
Irene | Light Beckonss last blog post..Epiphanies From Freaking Out
Mare 09.17.08 at 11:06 pm
@Karl: I hear you about setting up your own standards. Here in Panama it’s very much about looking over your shoulder at what the person standing next to you is doing, but I’m really good at doing my own thing.
@Kelly: I was in charge of the Labor Division of the Panama Canal Authority (over 8 million employees, and almost all except for a few at the top belong to unions) a few days after my 32nd birthday, so I can relate to ambition. I’m still ambitious–very much so–but I’ve learned to relax the rules that I set on myself and enjoy the ride more.
@Irene: I hadn’t thought of it as a Lego system, but now that you mention it, I like it.
Stacey Shipman 09.18.08 at 6:55 am
I remember a saying I saw once - Success is a journey not a destination. For me success is enjoying the entire process.
This is a great list to help people understand success is different for all of us. Wealth might be a measurement for some, but happiness or a healthy family is success for others. Important to remember.
Stacey Shipmans last blog post..It may not be new, but it’s mine
Chris 09.18.08 at 11:00 am
My man Shakespeare once said “…This above all to thine own self be true.” Yes, success really comes when you are true to your self.
He also said “…neither be a borrower or lender be…” Yes, you must also have enough money to cover the monthly bills…
I guess you’d cover pretty much everything…
Tom Volkar / Delightful Work 09.18.08 at 11:26 am
Success for me is doing whatever the hell I want to do when I want to do it and having enough space and resources to enjoy what matters to me.
Harmony 09.18.08 at 3:10 pm
Success - One of the synonyms for success is realization…Can I be so abstract as to say that success is the realization that it’s pretty much a game we play here…tht we take ourseves incredibly seriously, and that we were born inherently successful? Thanks for your awesome posts!
Harmonys last blog post..ECONOMIC "MELTDOWN"
Mare 09.18.08 at 7:03 pm
@Stacey: I definitely think that our definition of success should be about the journey, instead of thinking: I’ll be successful if at the end of my life I have so and so.
@Chris: Your man Shakespeare sure knows a lot
@Tom: This sounds like the line from the Sinatra song: I did it my way.
@Harmony: Being able to chip away the illusion that we are flawed and somehow need to prove our worth, and accepting that we were born perfect and have already won. I think that’s a great way of looking at success Harmony.