Is it really possible or even okay to define your own success or do you think there’s a definitive answer to the question, “What is success?”
Craig Ballantyne of ‘Early To Rise’ wrote a great article about defining success. I found it truly inspiring, especially where he states:
There is no one thing that makes you “successful”. For some, it might be raising a healthy, happy, tight family. For others, it might helping dozens, hundreds, thousands, or millions of customers. I suppose if there is one common thread among all areas of success, it’s the “Adding of Value”. My definition of success is, “If you are adding more value to the world than you are consuming, then you are well on your way to success.”
The biggest impression that article had on me was the part about success being the Adding of Value.
I asked myself whether I was adding to other people’s lives. Whether my focus was on what really matters most to me and those around me, including those women I know I’ve been called to serve. And then this morning, I was challenged by a comment on Twitter stating that you define your own success. I don’t know about you, but I have a real issue with that.
To me, real success is about the whole and not the half.
By this I mean, you could have all the money in the world and every material thing a woman could ask for, and yet be miserable and unhealthy with a myriad of dysfunctional relationships. In my view, this isn’t the true measure of success.
If you have the best relationships, you’re influential in your community and you’re in the best of health, but you struggle financially, this is not the true measure of success either.
Whilst we will never reach perfection (no matter what they taught you at school), we can and should strive for the best in every area of our lives … in other words, “don’t camp!”
Whatever you’ve achieved, celebrate it, call it a success or whatever makes you feel happy, but don’t settle for half.
Instead, try adding more value in the areas you’re lacking in
If you’re financially wealthy but you’re relationships are frayed, work on them and strive to attain success in your relationships. If it’s your health, strive to get healthy, adding value to other people as you build upon your established successes.
Blessings,
