How Do You Measure Success?
Many of us self-evaluate our success in our career and life. We often set objectives that at a certain age we will achieve a list of things. There are internal and external factors that contribute to your success. Your success is influenced by the success of others and vice versa. We are all interconnected in some way or another. Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.
Many metrics can measure success however only looking at metrics will not gain a complete picture of your success. It is good to be a success in your career however, it is as important to be a success in life.
Ways of Measuring Success In Your Career
Knowledge
Experience goes a long way and contributes a lot to your progression in your career. A lot of experience will help and improve your knowledge in your chosen field. Remember you do not have to be 100% successful in everything you do the first time around. To understand what works and what does not, it is as important to fail and learn from those failures to improve knowledge and confidence. You can measure success by evaluating what you know and what you do not know in your field. By identifying knowledge gaps you can push to improve your knowledge and become more successful.
“I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” – Thomas Edison
Short-Term Goals
The measure of success does not have to be long-term goals such as a promotion but can often be small tasks or projects. There will be tasks such as presentations, admin tasks or projects you will be involved in that will contribute to your success and provide that feeling of accomplishment. For example, it might be your first time presenting in front of an audience and you feel nervous. The long hours you have contributed to creating the presentation and practising your presenting skills will make you feel a sense of accomplishment after you have presented. When you look back, the sense of accomplishment and success is not the result but the journey to get to the result. Remember to take time to reflect on small accomplishments in your career.
Make Someone’s Day
Success does not have to be directly about your success but your contribution to the success of others or just making someone’s day is another measure for success. Could be teaching or helping a colleague get through a bad day. Another example is providing a good memorable customer experience that the customer will likely come back. By providing good memorable customer service may not contribute to a sale but will improve branding and customer retention perspective. There are a lot of non-tangibles that can be measured.
Enjoyment
A major factor contributing to your success is your enjoyment within the role/sector you are in, if you enjoy what you are doing then you will be more motivated to push boundaries and put more hours into producing outstanding work.
Ways of Measuring Success In Your Life
Balanced Healthy Lifestyle
A major factor to success in life is having a balanced healthy lifestyle. Having a balanced work-life relationship that enables you to pursue your passions outside of your career and switch off your work brain. Pursuing your passions will make your life more enjoyable and allows you to discover yourself more.
Healthy Family
During the tough times in your life you will need your family circle to be there for support but also providing support to improve theirs will lay the groundwork to have a supportive network.
Be The True Version Of Yourself
Sticking to the values you believe in and being who you are will help you to partake in tasks or pursuits that you value and want to be successful in. The ultimate goal is to be a true version of yourself and not be someone you are not.
Inspire Others
We influence so many people through our interactions and the availability of social media, it has allowed us to influence a greater audience than just the people we know. Through your interactions, values, and success, you can inspire other people to be the best version of themselves to achieve greater success. We can share our experiences and wisdom to inspire change whether it is big or small. Be the teacher you always wanted and impart knowledge to those that seek it.
Summary
We all have different objectives and passions that we want to pursue. Measuring success is not as easy as hitting certain tangible markers but there are non-tangible aspects of success that have a greater contribution to your success and success in others. Appreciate the small accomplishments as much as celebrating big successes. Always be open to change, no one is born perfect. Failure is part of the journey to success. To be successful you must be true to yourself and what you believe in.