What does success mean to you? Is it money in the bank, a certain title on your business card or something much simpler? Chasing the money and power may be what we set out for originally but I believe there’s more to living a successful life.
This has been a topic close to my heart for some years now. I was the one ticking the boxes and climbing the ladder, working for the big pay cheque and promotion.
I thought I was on track and on paper all looked good. Great job. Great family. Great house.
So why was I so unhappy and burnt out?
I was spending so much time and energy on something that didn’t inspire me. I was good at my job but it wasn’t something that lit me up. It wasn’t something I wanted to do be doing all day long and towards the end wasn’t bringing me any form of joy.
It’s not about having it all. It’s about making decisions about what’s important
When I finally made the decision to leave my corporate career I felt like a weight had been lifted.
I realised success for me was freedom. I was now free to do what I wanted to do, and work on projects that I truly believed in.
I had the freedom to learn, create and figure out who I was and how I wanted to work.
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also had the freedom to spend time with my kids and set my own schedule.
Success is about making positive choices about where you’re going
Success to me is about making a positive choice about what I want my life to be. It will be different for everyone, but realising that we create our own success is a huge step forward.
There’s no need to be miserable every day doing something that you don’t enjoy. You have the power to choose a different path.
Do what feels right
Sometimes we get so busy doing what we think others want from us, rather than doing what feels right to us. This will only lead to frustration and burn out.
Pay attention to what lights you up, what brings you joy and what nurtures you. This applies to life and work, the big things and the little things.
“One reason we give for allowing stress to build in our lives is that we don’t have time to take care of ourselves. We’re too busy chasing a phantom of the successful life.” – Arianna Huffington
Check in on how far you’ve already come
We’re often so busy watching what others are doing that we forget to check in on how far we’ve come ourselves. Stop, turn around and remember where you started. You’ve come so far, don’t stop now.
If you dream of a different life, a different job or just a different outlook, keep going. Each new step towards that dream may seem small but they soon add up.
Sometimes we get so busy making a living that we forget to make a life.
The Shift from Head to Heart
In my corporate career, I’d spent years learning skills that I’d become good at, but many of these skills didn’t light me up. I kept finding myself working from my head rather than my heart, which always led to frustration and unfulfilment.
Focus instead on what you want to do.
After 15 years in Financial Services, I realised my strengths lie in the emotional side of business rather than the technical. The part of my job I loved the most was around the relationships, not the numbers.
Now I get to work to my strengths and be energised by my work, rather than depleted.
I‘d say that’s success, wouldn’t you?
Success is different for everyone, have you thought about what success means to you?
Once you know that, you may be closer than you think to achieving it.
