Connect with us

Success Advice

How Defining Success is the Key to Being Successful

Published

on

Image Credit: Unsplash

Could you imagine getting into a car, planning to go somewhere, and yet have no idea as to when you’ve arrived? This seems absolutely ridiculous. How could you get anywhere without being aware of the destination? Yet, the truth is, this is how many of us work towards success. We have the idea in our mind that we’d like to be successful, but there is no clear picture of what this success would be. In other words, we have no destination.

I played college baseball, so this failure to define success was quite evident within myself. Before a game, I would say that I wanted to play well, as most athletes do. But what I failed to realize was what playing well truly meant. Without pinpointing what a successful day would be, I’d be lost in all the ways it went wrong. As a result of having no clear definition of success, I succumbed to all sorts of negative forms of thinking. 

Like clockwork, I could always find areas where I fell short. However, that all changed once I learned a valuable skill. As a result of learning how to define success, I freed myself from much of my perfectionism and anxiety, along with developing a clear picture of what it meant to be successful. 

What Does it Mean to Define Success?

Success is truly subjective. We should never allow anyone else to determine what it means for us to be successful. What is important is how we view success. What does it mean to you to be successful? Operating off the definition of success described by someone else is where much of our stress and anxiety can come from. 

The way we define success is of our own choosing. Up until I realized what it meant to define success, I was operating off the definitions of others. I saw success largely as a comparison to those around me. While this can be seen as a productive way to operate, especially in a competition fueled environment like sports, it actually hinders performance. 

Constant comparison of ourselves to others pulls our focus away from the processes we must follow to actually achieve peak performance. In order to attain our goals and reach what we deem to be successful, first we must define success.

“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” – Anne Sweeney

Goal Setting Procedure

When thinking about how to set goals in order to define success, there are two types to take into consideration: large goals and small goals. 

Large Goals – Large goals are the ones that take a significant amount of time to accomplish. These typically operate under the time frame of years but can sometimes be months. This large amount of time allows for all the necessary actions to unfold that lead to the successful achievement of the goal. 

Small Goals – The next type of goals we must focus on are the small, process goals that seek to achieve the larger one. These are the activities we do on a daily basis. 

The reason they are referred to as process goals is because they are not outcome oriented. When we set a large goal, it is mainly based on an external outcome. It may take the form of a number on a scale, landing a certain job, finishing the season with a specific number of wins, or earning a targeted income. However, focusing on the end result is a key distractor that causes us to never actually achieve our goal. So, enter process goals as the solution. Here you have the habits that you trust will lead you on the path towards your desired outcome.

How to Define Success

We can use the concept of large and small goals to help us define success in any area of our lives. What I would like to do is provide you with an outline you can use to easily define success for yourself. 

Step 1: Define Your Large Goal

The first step in defining success will be to outline your goal. Think about the goal setting procedure discussed above. You want to split your goals into two categories: large and small goals. In this step, you want to be thinking in terms of a large goal. We should always be working towards an outcome we desire, and this step gives us the opportunity to define what that will be. A good rule of thumb when defining your large goal is to make it as specific as possible. This way, you will know exactly when it has been achieved. 

Step 2: Focus on Process Goals

Here is where we really get into the best way defining success helps us become successful. Once a large goal is set, it is now time to focus on the smaller process goals that will get you there. By setting process goals, you will be able to state whether each day was a success. That is where the process of defining success truly becomes powerful.

When defining success using process goals, you want to focus on two areas: mindset and physical goals. These are going to be goals you set which are completely in your control. That way, you can be sure to accomplish them. 

Mindset Goals

Setting mindset goals involves declaring how you want your mental state to be. This can be done for a game, a practice, a meeting, or simply a whole day. Here are some examples of great mindset goals:

  •     Stay confident and positive no matter the result.
  •     Repeat affirmations three times today.
  •     Feel gratitude.
  •     Remain focused on my responsibilities.
  •     Desire success instead of fearing failure.

Each one of these is something we are all capable of achieving, making them fantastic mindset process goals.

“Without dreams and goals there is no living, only merely existing, and that is not why we are here.” – Mark Twain

Physical Goals

Setting physical goals involves outlining and defining how you want to behave from a physical standpoint. It may seem like physical goals are more designed for athletes, but we all can focus on physical process goals to help us define success. Here are some examples of physical process goals:

  •     Walk with my chest up to feel confident. 
  •     Go to the gym for one hour. 
  •     Look everyone in the eye when I talk to them. 
  •     Read for 30 minutes. 
  •     Write 1,000 words.

So, as you can see, these physical goals involve any activity that is necessary on the path towards your goal. By defining mindset and physical process goals, you will have a clear picture of whether your day was a success. Focusing and trusting your process goals will provide you with the opportunity to feel confident and successful each day. This will put you in a great position to achieve the ultimate success you desire. 

Eli Straw is the founder of Success Starts Within and has an M.S. in psychology. Eli's goal is to provide valuable performance psychology information to the public, and help individuals optimize their lives. If you would like to read more articles written by Eli, you can view them here. You can follow Eli on Twitter at @straw_eli. If you would like to learn more about how you can benefit from mental performance coaching, feel free to email Eli at elistraw@successstartswithin.com.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Success Advice

Why You Shouldn’t Discount A Brick And Mortar Store In 2025

We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options, but is it worth questioning this theory?

Published

on

How to grow a brick and mortar store
Image Credit: Midjourney

In 2024, you’d be forgiven for thinking that physical shopping is a thing of the past. We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options. But is it worth questioning this theory? (more…)

Continue Reading

Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

Published

on

altering business approach
Image Credit: Midjourney

Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

Continue Reading

Success Advice

Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success

These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds

Published

on

Creating legal boundaries
Image Credit: Midjourney

The two smallest yet most powerful words in life, “Yes” and “No,” have a big impact on our growth on both personal and professional levels. In addition to affecting the choices we make every day, these words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds. (more…)

Continue Reading

Motivation

From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone

By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality

Published

on

How to be motivated
Image Credit: Midjourney

Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)

Continue Reading

Trending