To Find Success, You Need to Define It

Most of us want to be successful, but what does that mean exactly? The idea of success is different for each person, yet we often compare our lives and success to that of others. It’s crucial to define what success means to you personally, understanding what it looks like and why it’s important. Only after you’ve defined your own idea of success can you carve out the most effective path to get there.

Get to know yourself

I know it might sound cheesy or simplistic, but having a strong sense of what matters to you, what you want, and how you operate is key to understanding what success means for you. The idea of a purpose may feel elusive for some, but centering in on that “why” can help clarify where it is you want to go. For some, this is connected to the idea of helping other people, or for others, it might be getting recognized for good deeds. Thinking about why you want to be successful can often help you better define what that success will look like. It helps to look at your current situation as well, observing the areas you’re happy or unhappy in and narrowing down the areas in which you’d like to improve. This introspection is essential for getting a clear understanding of what success means to you personally.

Look to the Future

As you map out what you want to achieve, keeping the big picture in mind will help you move in the right direction. Rather than focusing solely on more immediate success, set your sights on the next 10 years as well. Look ahead to the more long-term success you want. That picture will help guide your short-term goals so that each smaller achievement is a step on the path to that larger vision of success.

Visualize It

Visualization is a method many people use when working to achieve challenging goals, everyone from business professionals to athletes. This technique is about picturing the success you want. It forces you to get specific. You can’t just be striving towards “success” as an ambiguous idea but instead will have an image of what that concept looks like. It may not be perfectly clear all the time, and it may change and evolve, but it will help guide your decisions as you move closer to it. It’s also a great way to stay motivated, serving as a reminder of what you’re striving towards.

Feel It

Visualizing what success would look like is only one piece of the puzzle. Rather than focusing on the “things” you want — money, possessions, relationships, public recognition, etc. —  focus on what success feels like. Ask yourself, “how do I want to feel when I’m successful?”. Answering this question will help you navigate towards a better understanding your version of success. It will leave open many more opportunities than if you box yourself in with a checklist of specific items required to be successful.

Break It Down

Even when you have a clear sense of what success means to you, it will probably be a much more complex and detailed concept than something that could be contained in a single achievement. Let that idea of success inform your goals, both long and short term. Break it down into an action plan where you map out the smaller steps to start traveling towards your own definition of success.

Rarely do people stumble upon success. Instead, it usually requires hard work and commitment. To set effective goals, to make decisions that move you closer to what you want, and to stay inspired when things get challenging, you need to have some clarity around what success means for you. Think about shooting an arrow at a blurry target, where you’re unsure of where exactly you want it to land. Your chances of a bull’s eye are low. But when you can see that target clearly and focus on its center, you can better direct the arrow to get there.