What is success? How do we go about achieving it?

Traditional measures of success seem to focus on tangible results such as wealth and professional recognition. Perhaps our motivation and career path have been driven by making our parents proud, providing a "good life" for our family, or conforming to what is perceived to be successful by society, our peers, or even a lecturer or an influential superior at work.

Success depends on what motivates us, how committed we are to achieving it, and what sacrifices we're prepared to make along the way. However, it shouldn't just be a lot of hard work for the benefits of others, recognition or material "show". We shouldn't have to make sacrifices at the expense of making us happy. We naturally do have to constantly work at achieving our success, but it shouldn't be an arduous journey. It should be a satisfying and rewarding one and it should be about balance. We will always come across obstacles in any career, but these can easily be overcome if we're motivated and happy in what we do.

We should not ignore the intangible effects our career has on our life and our loved ones, our general well-being and our long term physical and mental health.

Very few people if asked what success is, will think to say achieving happiness in their career and life. Many may feel that they are doing well in their career and might consider themselves to be successful, but are they truly happy in what they're doing? How many people feel proud of their career achievements? How many people feel that they have a good work / life balance?

The choices you make in your career should be about what's right for you and what motivates you and it's fine for your ambitions and goals to evolve and change as your life does. Don't be fooled into thinking that you can carry on the way you are and things will eventually come right or change for the better. You need to take control and make changes in order to positively progress your career forward.

If you feel you need to make some positive changes to kick start your career in the right direction (these changes could be small or completely life changing), we're here to help you at every step. Please contact us for further information on career coaching.


Author: Nike Wadds, Stand Tall Consulting