What is success?

Last year a phantom knitter started “yarn bombing” the local post box. On a regular basis, the box magically appears with a new outfit. I smile every time I pass it.

However, recently there has been further intrigue. Someone has now also left a mystery package addressed “For the phantom knitter of St. Brelade’s…”

I keep wondering. What’s the identity of this secret knitter? What made them decide to decorate the box? Given that they keep their identity under their hat, how do they determine if their efforts are a success?

I’ve also been thinking about my personal definition of “success” too.  Recently I met up with a fellow coach. They asked me useful questions about my career coaching practice and contributed some excellent ideas for things I could do. Weirdly, I came away feeling as if I was not quite ‘measuring up’.

It took me a few days of reflection to figure out why, but when I did it seemed so obvious. I needed to re-evaluate my own unique definition and measures of “success”.

Are you clear about your own definition of “success”?

In ‘The Work we were born to do’, Nick Williams explains “Most of what we have come to know as success is what we believe we should want and is largely concerned with our outer world”.

You can consider this by completing the statement “To be successful I must…”

Do your “success factors” relate to money, achievements, or possessions? How many things are on your list? Are they all compatible?

Often it seems that society expects us to always want more. More money. More things. More power. We may put pressure on ourselves to achieve/ do /get ‘more’, thinking that when we do, we will be happier and more successful.

But are we at risk of chasing measures of success that may not align with our own personal values?

If “success is not something to get but to be” then having a greater understanding of ourselves and clarity on our values can help us to establish our own definition of success.

Dr.Rangan Chatterjee recently shared an effective exercise:

·        Firstly, think of three things that make you feel good? These can be things that would give you a real sense of happiness.

·        Then think about the end of your life. What are the things you would have liked to have done?

Are your answers are aligned? Are the things you do now consistent with your bigger picture? With some deeper reflection, your own definition of “success” might not be what you think it is.

As I continue to guess about the identity of the mysterious “Phantom knitter”, I do hope they are finding their own success from their anonymous creative endeavours.

As Maya Angelou wrote, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it”.