#MyMetric: Knowing What Makes Me Jump for Joy

LinkedIn's Editorial Calendar has dubbed April as #MyMetric for Success month. Whether it’s dollar signs or something more intangible like security or flexibility, members are asked to reveal the one metric they’re optimizing for. I've taken a slightly different tact in revealing #MyMetric for success and hope my post inspires you to identify and connect with yours.

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Quick, think: when was the last time you jumped for joy?

Can't remember? You're not alone.

Perhaps somewhere between checking off the boxes for work projects, returning your kid's (nearly overdue) library books, and running the dishwasher (again) the element of joy has slid out of your life.

Fortunately, this morning I was reminded that joy can — and does — exist. It's just that we might be looking in all the wrong places.

Enter Rigby, my 4-year-old yellow lab.

Like most labs, Rigby is very social and prefers to spend time with his pack (aka our family). This means he's my near constant companion, whether he's situated on his favorite spot outside my home office, or in the car with me, ears flapping in the breeze out the window.

He also has a lot of energy.

Every day after our morning car ride to drop off my youngest daughter, Rigby looks at me with those big brown eyes, hoping I'll say the magic word: park.

I'm not kidding when I tell you that when I say the word "park" to Rigby he jumps for joy.

Literally. Like a pogo stick. Multiple times.

This morning as I was attaching his leash it finally dawned on me that this dog has his priorities straight. He knows exactly what he needs to be happier, calm, and more productive. More successful in his own "dogness," if you will.

Which got me thinking about my last few weeks and how they were filled with so much busyness — to be fair, some wonderful things like the birth of my nephew, my daughter's 12th birthday, and my parents' 52nd wedding anniversary, as well as helping and supporting my clients and friends — yet with not much time set aside for my own personal fulfillment.

Something just for me.

Today, as I took Rigby to his magical park and had a break in the busyness, I got a chance to exhale and reflect on my own metric for success. And what makes me (metaphorically) jump for joy: the rush that comes with creatively expressing myself through writing, and sharing my insights to positively influence others.

Because I believe that the best way to measure success is through your own joy, and knowing what gives you that joy is the key.

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A huge thank you to you, my readers and followers, for your part in helping me get back to and connect with #MyMetric.

And of course, to my little jumping bean of a joyful pup, Rigby, for his daily inspiration.

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Now it's your turn: What makes you jump for joy? Is your metric for success different than #MyMetric? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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 Amy (that's me on the left) is the president of rbp consulting, a consultancy specializing in helping transform people and organizations in transition. Now that she's identified what makes her jump for joy, she'd love to help you find yours. Contact her at rbpconsulting.org.

? Amy Blaschka and www.rbpconsulting.org, 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this author and/or owner strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Amy Blaschka and rbp consulting with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.