Define Success Before Trying To Pursue It

Everyone’s definition of success is different and it depends on a lot of different factors. But what remains the same is that everyone wants to succeed in life, and as productivity blog Dumb Little Man points out, the first step is to define what success means to you so you know when you’re satisfied.

Photo by Michael Lemmon.

The question might seem obvious, but as Dumb Little Man points out it’s probably not as concrete of an idea as it seems. Most people are going to list a good salary, health or a happy family life as their idea of success, but they need personal definitions:

Unless you’re clear on exactly what a “good salary” means to you, it’s going to be hard for you to be satisfied. And the same goes for other areas, like your health and your family life. Sure, you can’t put a figure on those — but you can write down a detailed description of what success will look like in those areas.

Until you define your version of success, you don’t really have anything to strive for and you don’t know when to stop pursuing it. Defining success might seem simple, but it’s worth the extra mental effort to make sure you have a good working definition for yourself.

Do You Know What “Success” Means for You? [Dumb Little Man]