Did I succeed or fail? How to Measure Success

It’s been another week of adventures. I’ve been extremely busy juggling a wide variety of tasks, ranging from planning and executing events to fundraising, hiring staff and holiday planning. Although I consider myself a multitasker par excellence, I often doubt if doing so many things below par is worth it. I know there are many debates about it, and studies show that splitting your time amongst so many tasks has negative impact, I am still a believer that perfection is not the goal and I’d rather do many things at A- level than one or two things at an A+. Note, that I didn’t say that I’d rather do many things at a C. I still strive high and aim to come out strong, yet I know that it is virtually impossible to do many things at an A+ level.

Well this week, I set out to raise a certain amount of money. My mind was in so many different places and I didn’t give the proper attention that the fundraiser deserved. I didn’t plan properly and despite the incredible support from two close friends, I didn’t hit my goal. I came close, but at the end of the day, I didn’t raise the amount of money I set out to.

So I ask you, did I succeed or fail? Well on one hand, I failed. If my goal was to raise $100 and I only raised $85 or $90, then I did not hit it. It’s pretty black and white. Either I hit my goal or I didn’t.

But there’s another side to the story. The same two days that I set out to raise the funds, I also had two in-person events, one zoom event and a number of meetings. I still juggled all my other responsibilities without letting any of the balls in the air fall. I put in as much effort as I could with the stamina I had at the time. Although I didn’t reach my goal, I am proud that I came close. I learned some valuable lessons on advanced planning and the power of a strong team, but in hindsight, I don’t really have any regrets. Would I say I succeeded? I’m not sure. But I wouldn’t say I failed.

If beauty is in the eyes of the beholder than failure is held in the subjective mind. Failure is decided by the lens through which one looks, through the perspective one chooses to see life. Start measuring your efforts rather than your results and you will start to see immeasurable more successes. Choose clarity over reality and effort over results. Doing so will give you a fresh perspective as to who is truly successful.