How Do You Define Success?

Four Questions To Consider When Creating Your Definition of Success

Success is such a personal thing, that whenever someone asks me to define it I always hesitate. I know my answer will be nothing like theirs because my life is not theirs, and anything I say on the topic will be skewed by my own life experiences and what’s important to me at that particular moment. There was a time in my life when my definition of success was getting from one week to the next without making a trip to the food bank.

Examples of how some people define success for themselves include having enough money (or a lot of it), being healthy, having lots of friends, a big house, or the latest “big boy” toys to play with. (And no, there’s no gender bias there… because I know for a fact that big girls like ‘em too.)

Then there are the philosophical definitions of success. Which are just as different depending on who you ask and the material definitions. When I was putting together “Success Quotes from The Acorn Stash” awhile back, I collected over 100 quotes from influential thinkers that had the words “success is” somewhere in the lines.

But I digress… (I’m kinda good at that)

Back to you… How do YOU define success?

It can be a daunting process to create a clear picture of what you want your success to look like., You need to ask yourself some tough questions. More importantly, you need to be honest with yourself when you answer them.

So with that being said, here are four questions to get you started designing your own definition of success…

1. Where will I be in 5 years? In 10 years?

Think about what you want your life to look like in five or ten years, or both. Visualize how you will have progressed and grown over that period of time.

2. Does my definition of success include all the areas of my life?

Life is made up of so many different areas and experiences, that one definition of success can’t begin to cover them all. For example, being successful in your relationships is not the same as being successful in your personal growth which is not the same as being successful in business or your career. How you define each of these will make up part of the whole that is your unique life.

3. What goals have I created to help me reach that success?

It’s great that you want to be successful, but what steps are you taking to get there? If you don’t have goals (whether you call them goals or targets or milestones or whatever word you choose) that you can measure and define, how will you know you’ve achieved success? Write down your goals and read them often.

Here’s something to consider as you’re reading your goals — how do they make you feel?

Too often we set our goals based on what we think others will want us to achieve. This success process is all about YOU, so when you’re reading your goals out loud to yourself, pay attention to how they make you feel. A good goal should stretch your comfort zone, and it’s normal to stress a little bit, but it should not send you screaming in a panic or make you nauseous or upset with yourself. A good goal, and one that’s in line with your vision of success will make you feel good, get you excited at the prospect of achieving it, and feel right. I know that sounds vague, but I don’t know how to describe it any other way. (If I figure it out you will be the first to know!)

4. Does my life flow?

Some people might ask “Is there balance in my life?” I’ve never been a big fan of balance because to me it means I have to divide things up equally. And sometimes there’s just no way to do that. If you’re pursuing a career goal, it’s natural that your focus is going to be more on that than the other areas of your life. I like the idea of flow because it implies that all areas of your life work together. You know that it’s not healthy to be so single-minded that you forget about everything else in your life in the pursuit of one goal. You still have to eat, and sleep and take care of yourself. You still have to spend time with family and friends, even if it is less than you or they would like.

When you’re successful, your life should have that flow where all of the pieces fit together like the perfect puzzle, creating one successful life and making you feel happier and at peace with yourself.

And isn’t that really the ultimate success in life? When you create your own personal definition of success and work to achieve it, all of the things you put into your definition be they money, relationships, health, or material goods have one ultimate goal — to make you happy.

I wish you much success.

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