How do you measure success?
Everybody wants to be successful, but if you ask the average person, you won’t find a clear answer of what success stands for or how to measure it. The most common metrics are wealth and status, but based on research, they are the least likely to motivate you to the success you desire. We could write a book on the many ways you can measure success, but we compiled four metrics in this article that can simplify it a bit for you.
“4 Metrics to Measure Success!”
1. Does your heart convict you? You know when you aren’t doing the right thing and doing the right thing is a great way to measure your success. When your daily actions align with the things you desire most, you will be happy and peaceful. You may not be where you want to be yet, but you know you are making strides and doing the best you can. If your actions aren’t aligning with your goals and dreams, your heart will tell you. You will feel guilty and a lot of times even depressed because the decisions and actions you are taking are not moving you closer to where you want to go.
2. How many successful people are next to you? You are only as successful as those you surround yourself with. It is important to be picky about who you spend your time with and who is influencing your decisions. If you do an inventory of the people around you most of the time and none of them are any more successful than you, it may be time to search out some new faces. We are not telling you to kick your friends and family to the curb, but how many highly motivated people you are surrounded with is a great way to measure success.
3. Do you love what you do? There is likely not one thing that will keep you motivated and happy day in and day out, life just doesn’t work that way. However, it is beyond important to enjoy and love what you do. Everyday isn’t going to be perfect, and even if you love what you do, you will have bad days, but you shouldn’t dread going to work every day. You will likely achieve more out of life if you love what you do!
4. How many people are you helping? More important than money and fame is impact. The more lives you can change for the better, the more value you add to this world. Positive impact gets the short end of the stick and usually doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. It takes a while before people realize just how big of a difference some actions made. The more you help others, it will come back to you in ways you can’t even imagine. Probably one of the best metrics to measure your success is counting the people whose lives you have made a difference in.
There are many ways to measure success. Success is relative to you and the values that you hold dear. Only you can truly determine what success means to you. The important thing is that you know what it is you want, you are taking some kind of action towards your goals, and that you are measuring how you are doing based on what matters most to you!
Written by:
Kim Martin, Founder of I’ve Decided, INC.