What is success to you?
What is success?
Is it wealth? Is it happiness? Is it fame?
I came across this article and I'm not entirely sure I agree with all the ideas set out (which is good because questioning what we Don't agree with as much as what we Do usually brings more concise results), but one thing I am positive about is that ‘what that looks like’ is different for everyone. And that's OK - in fact it's to be encouraged, right?!
For such a large part of my life I didn't explicitly question what success might mean for me, and, as I am sure so many people have, fell into the trap of thinking in line with the #socioeconomic #cultural #values that surrounded us particularly in the western world, where profit was the sole marker of success. Indeed, ‘profit equals success’ was a script imbedded in my psyche from an early age. No wonder I felt a failure half my life.
It was only when I designed a #businessstartup course for members of the Rural Women's Network in northwest UK, back in 2007, that it became starkly apparent that Profit was not the key marker of success, or #happiness, for those who have chosen lifestyles outside of competitive cash-driven business markets - and I’d happen to guess that's quite a large percent of the populace.
For the particular demographic, the business #aspirations of those involved were driven by the desire to a) make money from something they enjoy - largely a #creative activity where the process was a #priority over the profit driven from the product b) earn enough money to afford a treat, be it a holiday or new clothes and c) do something that gave them satisfaction and #confidence, made them feel good, feel worthy, feel they had a purpose in life beyond mother and wife #roles, and allowed them to network with other women who had their own businesses. A large % had confidence issues and this allowed them to regain some self confidence and self worth. Only in one or two cases was profit a prime driver for the business.
These demographics are polemic. There is no right of wrong. Profit is a not dirty word (and that script has caused enough damage). These vastly different ideas lead me to want to explore more what lies in between - what does success mean and what are the drivers and motivations to reach success? My curious nature itches to find out what drives people (leave me a comment and tell me yours).
I explore ‘what success means and looks like’ with my clients before investigating any blockages or other #issues to gain absolute #clarity. I do this by creating a #nurturing space to explore what success is, is not, and could be, from a place of #compassion and #curiousness, and by #non-judgemental, open and gentle questioning. By creating this space we begin to frame what success might look like from an entirely blank sheet, and that gives us a wonderful starting point to explore the journey to get there.
What is success to you? Send me a message and let me know.
#Inteligent #Compassionate #Coaching
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/the-new-definitions-success.html
