Ways to Define Success

There are numerous ways to define success. A number of people will not make themselves explicit about what success really means to them, but if you look around and see what people are doing, or not doing, you will understand the difference. A lot of people want to attain a number of things – like being rich, being at the top job and having a successful marriage. However, what are they really doing to attain this success? Are they working smart and hard toward their goal? Are they saving their money and living frugally? Are they understanding, generous, loving and considerate to their spouse, or spending quality time with the kids?

Are these people proving to be a social asset by being an understanding neighbor? All of us have the idea that there are these tasks to accomplish, but then you are probably missing out something. To define success, you should be at the level where you should be. Is success defined by career, money, love, friendship, family, community and respect? Success for some may be chiefly about love. Do you touch lives with your presence? Have any of the people been changed with your presence? Success is really about being a good human being.

Success is the key to building character. Someone needs to do something or work towards something for their success. With positive thoughts, you can have a positive impact on your life. A strong negative thought can bring about depression which can lead to suicidal tendencies. These are the thoughts that shape our life. It is a little complex to define success, but it is something that has 4 key components. These are as follows:

• Happiness: Feeling of contentment or pleasure about life.

• Achievement: Accomplishments which compare well against identical goals which others have struggled for.

• Significance: Sense of making a positive impact on people we care for.

• Legacy: A way of establishing our accomplishments and values to help others locate success in the future.

If one is to get the real feeling of success, they should have a life that is made of all 4 of the above components. The challenge is that you need not segment life in a modular way in the above categories. You cannot, for instance, suggest that your happiness component can be satiated by the sense of self, and that your family success can be supported by legacy. It is our individual understanding and analysis of success that defines it. You need to hit on these 4 elements with uniformity by juxtaposing our activities to the hilt.