Ways To Define Personal Success

May 16, 2022

This article is from Indeed. View their article at the bottom.

It’s up to an individual to determine what success looks like and find ways to reach these aspirations. In this article, we share ways to define personal success and how to define success for yourself.

15 ways to define success

Here are 15 unique definitions of success:

Success is having wealth and power

For many people, having wealth and power is how they would define success. Reaching a point in your career when you make a lot of money and are in a leadership position can be quite an accomplishment. What’s important is realizing this isn’t the sole definition of success. While money and power can get you what you want, they won’t necessarily help you live a fulfilling life.

Success is having wisdom

Those in the latter stages of their careers may find that they have gained wisdom throughout the years. Having wisdom means that you possess experience, knowledge and good judgment. Being able to think critically about a variety of situations and pass your knowledge onto others are important skills to develop throughout life. By gaining all kinds of career experiences, you can gain new insights and life lessons.

Success is achieving mindfulness

Mindfulness is being able to live in the moment. As many people focus on the past and future, it can be challenging to focus on the present. You may find that learning to be present is a great success. One way to do this is by resetting the way you think. Being aware of your thoughts, surroundings and feelings can help you be more mindful. Techniques, such as meditation and yoga, can also help you learn to be more present.

Success is having self-confidence

Finding your self-confidence is a journey for many people. Having this sense of confidence can help you be more open to trying new things and chasing different opportunities. A few ways to improve your confidence are to focus on your strengths, practice positive thinking, develop new skills, surround yourself with uplifting people and learn from your mistakes.

Success is finding growth opportunities

There is always room for improvement, making it important to find opportunities to grow in your career. You can get started by seeing if your employer offers any career development opportunities. Attending conferences, lectures and seminars are great ways to develop your career. You may even want to consider enrolling in some continuing education classes to learn a particular skill.

Success is giving back

Finding a job that allows you to support yourself while helping others is a major accomplishment. Being able to give back to your community or a cause that you support is a good feeling. Even if your job makes this challenging to do, you could find ways to help people outside of work. For instance, volunteering your time or donating to charities are great ways to help.

Success is finding balance

Achieving a work-life balance is an important part of feeling happy. When you have time for your hobbies and interests outside of work, you can feel more recharged and ready for the next workday. One way to start finding balance is by turning off your work notifications when you get home. Make it clear to your team that you are only available during work hours.

Success is knowing your values

Taking some time to reflect on your values is important. This way, you can learn to make better decisions at work. When you behave based on your values, you tend to feel better about your actions and more confident in your decisions.

Success is surrounding yourself with good people

Surrounding yourself with positive and uplifting people can help you live a more successful life. When you notice someone has a good attitude at work, try to gravitate toward this person. Working with kind and caring people can help you develop these attributes in yourself.

Success is building something you’re proud of

Those with an entrepreneurial mindset see success as building something they are proud of. While starting a new business is a lot of work, it can pay off immensely. Along with being your own boss, you can set out to provide services and goods people can benefit from.

Success is knowing your boundaries

Learning how to set boundaries is an important part of being able to manage your work. It takes self-discipline to learn how to say “no” to certain tasks or responsibilities. By setting your boundaries right away, people can learn to respect them.

Success is being a lifelong learner

There are always new things to learn, no matter what stage you are at in your career. Lifelong learners are always trying to find new ways to expand their knowledge. You can do this by reading books, keeping up with current affairs, listening to podcasts and attending educational courses. Try to surround yourself with people of different backgrounds to immerse yourself in new perspectives and ideas.

Success is overcoming challenges

Working to overcome challenges in your career is a big part of finding your success. Think of what barriers you hope to break over the course of your career, whether they be learning a new skill or facing a challenging situation.

Success is embracing your interests

Finding ways to incorporate your interests into your work can make you feel more satisfied with your career path. Even just making time outside of work to pursue your interests can help you feel more successful.

Success is feeling good about your choices

There may be times in your career when your integrity is challenged. Even if the right choice is the harder choice, making good decisions can help you feel good at the end of the day.

How to define success for yourself

Follow these steps when defining success for yourself:

1. Reflect on your accomplishments

When defining success for yourself, think about your previous accomplishments. Determine why you consider these feats to be achievements. By taking a moment to reflect on your accomplishments, you can figure out your values and what is important to you. Ask yourself the following questions:

How did this accomplishment make me feel?
Why did I care about working toward this goal?
Would I want to work toward similar goals in the future?
How do my accomplishments impact my life?
How do my accomplishments impact others?

Rather than letting society define success for you, determine what you think matters. When constantly striving toward other’s expectations, you are forgetting to focus on your own wants and needs. While some people may see money as success, others may find things like creative freedom or a flexible lifestyle more important.

3. Think big and small

Think of career success as a multi-level system. You can work toward all kinds of goals throughout your career to achieve different levels of success. For instance, if you complete all of your tasks on time, you could say that you had a successful day. If you got a major promotion, you could say you had a successful year. By focusing on both short-term and long-term goals, you can find continuous success. Even breaking your larger goals into many smaller ones makes it much easier for you to stay on track toward reaching your goals.

4. Make a plan of action

Once you decide what success looks like to you, figure out how you’re going to start working toward your achievements. By writing down a list of steps you need to complete, you can be a bit more realistic about what you can accomplish.

“15 Ways to Define Personal Success.” Indeed Career Guide, 5 Jan. 2021, https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/define-success.