Posted: 30th August 2017
Social media is saturated with images of ‘successful’ people and it is all too easy to feel that you’re not successful unless you too have photos of your latest world cruise or fantastic sports car gracing your feed.
But let’s face it, what we see on social media is only a small part of a much bigger life story and there really isn’t any sense in getting caught up in the debilitating ‘comparisonitis’ that too much social scrolling can create. And even more importantly, maybe those things just don’t float your boat in the first place!
Instead of worrying what everyone else is doing and achieving, it’s a much better use of your time to really get clear on what success looks like for you.
I want you to finish these 3 sentences:
Why are these questions important?
Knowing how you want to FEEL when you are successful is uber important because we set goals hoping they will make us feel a certain way when we achieve them.
As Danielle LaPorte says:
“You’re not chasing the goal itself, you’re chasing the feelings that you hope attaining those goals will give you.”
So if your goals are set around someone else’s dreams then you won’t ever feel successful enough! Considering how you want to feel when you’re successful will give you an idea of what it is you’re chasing in the first place and allow you to adjust your business goals accordingly.
Knowing what you would spend your extra time doing is essential because you can create a business that gives you time to do some of that NOW.
If you think that being successful will allow you to spend more time with your children, spend a little more time with them now. If you wait too long they will be too old to want to spend time with you anyway and you will have missed your chance!
If you think that being successful will give you the freedom to outsource some of the tasks you hate, look at outsourcing one of them now. The time you save procrastinating and doing a half-hearted job can be better spent doing the things in your business that you really love and will ultimately make you more successful.
Happiness and fulfillment need to be incorporated into your every day in little ways and not pursued like some far distant dream that you will ‘achieve’ one day.
Knowing what you think success will let give you PERMISSION to do when you achieve it is also vital because you can allow yourself to do those things now.
You may believe that you can only break the mold and go your own way once you are successful in the eyes of others. But being brave now and allowing yourself to create your business how you want it to look is imperative to its longevity and your continued passion for it.
Remember that ultimately running your own business should give you freedom, not take it away; it should bring you joy, not heartache; it should be fun, not a constant headache. If you’re doing things in your business just to keep up with your competitors and not enjoying your business for what it adds to your life, then you’re focusing on the wrong things.
Only YOU know what success looks like to you so be brave, follow your own heart, and create a business that allows you to be successful on your own terms.
Holly Hinton is a life and business mentor who helps women create lives & businesses that allow them to feel the way they want to feel and bring success on their own terms. She is a licensed Desire Map & Fire Starter Sessions facilitator and Web Goddess who feels successful in her own career – at least most of the time!
