How Do You Define Success
Everyone tends to define success in a different way. Some define it in terms of money, power, influence, or accomplishments. Others define success in terms of meeting goals, the people they know, and their families.
However you define success, I recently heard some great advice that I want to pass on. Basically, it is that we should end each day with a recounting of the successes we had that day. Write them down in your journal (I highly recommend keeping a journal). You will then go to sleep with a positive thought, ready for the next day.
This advice came from Bart Connor, former Olympic Champion. He shared, “Every night before bed my parents would ask me what my success was. So, I went to bed a success every night of my life. I woke up every morning a success. When I was injured before the Olympics, I knew I was going to make it back because I was a success every day of my life.”
How do you define success? Is it defined by accomplishment of a purpose, overcoming an obstacle, or just succeeding where others may have failed? Success does not have to be significant or earth changing to be celebrated. It can be as simple as doing something new, finishing something old, or overcoming your fears.
The key to this technique is that you recognize it and use it to motivate and celebrate each day. But you also must recognize that success and failure go hand in hand. You will fail if you try anything. However, when you are working toward a meaningful goal, one that involves making an impact and changing someone’s life (your own included), does any of that even matter?
Perhaps Henry Ford put it best… “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
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Every journey involves ups and downs. Whatever you are working towards, discomfort and fear of failure are going to show up. This is why it is so important to recognize successes when you have them.
My oldest son recently took on a challenge to participate in a 100-mile race.? He has been running for several years and competed in several races of different lengths, but never one this long. He trained for months, following routines designed to prepare him for the distance. He developed a support team, followed diets, and had seven pairs of running shoes and numerous pairs of socks packed and ready. The race required that runners must start out the first third of the race totally on their own. The course took them up a steep hill, across a ridge, down the other side, and through a stream of knee-high water. After the initial third, a pacer could run alongside him for encouragement and motivation. The weather was a definite factor with rain and cold adding to the misery of a muddy track.
He made it to the 78th mile of his journey and was forced to end his quest due to a foot injury. Was this a failure? At this point in the race, he completed considerably more miles than he had ever run at one time. Just entering the race was a victory that inspired his family and friends. He is a role model to many. And he is already talking about entering another 100-mile race in December. And although disappointed, he celebrated it as a success. Do you recognize your successes daily?
Dynamic Connector & Relationship Builder ● I help organizations achieve ambitious growth goals.
8 个月Great thoughts Bob. One of the ways I define success both personally and professionally is the ability to form genuine relationships with people and then positively influence their life in some way... big or small. Your post also reminds me of my passion for coaching youth baseball. Baseball is a game of constant failure. An MLB player who only gets a hit 3 out of 10 times is potentially Hall of Fame bound! Helping kids learn to look for successes among the many failures and then celebrating the successes while learning from the failures is a big part of coaching.