What Does Success Mean?

What feeling do you get when you think of the word success?

For some people, success brings about a feeling of accomplishment and pride in their achievements.  They celebrate all that they have done right and it motivates them to work even harder at moving forward.

For other people, the word success brings pressure and stress.  This word makes them think of all the failures in their life or the pressure of other people’s expectations.  To them, the thought of failure and the pressure put on them causes nothing but anxiety.

It’s important to remember that failure does not mean you are worthless.  Failure means that you are learning how to succeed.  Be patient with yourself.  Remember that you are not perfect and you don’t have to try to be perfect.  Use these failures as stepping stones to get where you want to be. 

Here are a few tips to help if you are still finding it hard to move past the failures to find your success:

• Make a list of all the things you love about yourself that have nothing to do with success, achievement, or goals.  This could be about your looks, your personality, the way you interact with other people, or even the amount of money you make.  Everything you love about yourself should be written.  When you list the things you love about yourself, you will be able to go back to that list any time you need encouragement.

• Think about what your idea of success looks like.  Your idea of success may not match other people’s definition.  What does success mean to you?  Are you successful if you make tons of money, if you have 1,000 clients, or your book makes the best seller list?  Are you successful if  you went for a walk, did the dishes, got the laundry done, breathed, or if you are alive today?   It’s important that you know what success looks like for you.  It’s even more important that you don’t try to fulfill someone else’s idea of success. 

Write down what your idea of success looks like for you.  Put that definition in a place that will remind you what your idea of success is.  Look at it every time you reach a goal.  Look at it every time you fail.  Remember that every person has their own idea of what success is.  It’s okay if your definition is different from other people.  You are allowed to have your own thoughts, dreams, and ideas.

• Think about your definition of failure.  What does failure mean to you?  When you think of failure, do you get depressed and feel like you’re not good enough?  If so, ask yourself where this feeling came from.  Who in your life told you that you aren’t good enough if you fail?

• Give yourself permission to fail.  This one is hard for most people. 

Now that you know where it came from and who said it to you, you have to change the way you look at failure.  Failing does not mean you are worthless.  Failing does not mean you can’t do something.  Failure is a stepping stone to get to where you want to be.  Failure helps you learn from your mistakes and gives you another chance to get it right.

• Feel the feelings.  Now that you know what the feelings are and where they came from.  Give yourself time to feel what failure mean to you.  Do this one at a time.  Cry it out.  Do whatever it takes to feel the bad feelings so that you can let them go and make room for the good things that are going to come your way.

Now give yourself time to feel your successes.  This is important because when you feel successful, your body creates dopamine.  Dopamine is called the happy hormone because it elevates your mood.  Just remember that you are allowed to be happy – even if you fail!

• Don’t give up.  Even if you feel like everything you try is just too hard, keep going.  When you get past the fear of failure, you will see success in the road ahead of you.  You can do it as long as you keep going. 

If you’d like to know more about how to let go of failure so that you can be more successful, click the button and schedule a free call with me. 

We can discuss what you could do to help yourself become more successful. 

We can discuss how to let go of fear. 

We can discuss what you can do for yourself and if working with me is the right fit for you.