Hey friends! How are you guys doing? We’re back in California, visiting friends and family for a while as well as getting some work done on US turf 🙂 We’re loving it, but also can’t help but feeling devastated and angered by the recent shootings in this country. We both cried a bit this morning as we rehearsed our song “Orlando” that will be on the summer album. All this reckless gun-violence and hatred…it’s sickening.
But let’s try to find some light and love today, as we in times like these seem to need it the most.
This week, I’ve been doing some thinking and journaling on success and rethinking what it looks like to me.
“Defining success on your own terms” is a cliche for a reason.
It’s really important not only to your long-term happiness but also your short-term decision-making. If you’re facing a decision and don’t know what to do, it can help to go back to your long-term vision of success. Which decision will support it the most?
The good news: there are no right or wrong answers to what that vision is. For some people, success is making lots of money. For others, it’s having a social impact. For others, it’s creating a life that allows them to go fishing every afternoon.
None of these things have to come at the expense of the other. It’s totally possible to make plenty of coin while having a social impact and take an hour off to fish every afternoon. Sure, it will be a bit more tricky to get all the puzzle pieces together in order to make it work (speaking from experience here!) but it is possible.
However, being crystal clear on what is the MOST important to you helps a lot while navigating along the way. It’s helping you through the puzzling and which ways to go. At least that’s what Lauren and I find very often. We both love doing so many different things, that sometimes we get lost in all of our hobbies, passions and work projects. We get confused in what to prioritise and what to put on the back burner. That’s when we have to remind each other and ourselves of what our CORE meaning of success is. And to us, it is to own our own time, and feel freedom in our everyday life. That’s above any money making job, fancy life, luxurious travels or fat saving accounts.
And maybe but not necessarily, you decide that ultimately, your time is worth more to you than money, and a truly successful life means freedom to spend your time the way you want: fishing in the afternoons. You get an offer of a job that would double your salary—but you’d have to work in an office all day. Reconnecting to your vision of success—having control of your time—helps you decide to turn that job down to keep your freedom.
But let’s say having a social impact is more important to you than fishing in the afternoons. Doubling your salary would make it possible for you to give more money to the organizations that make a difference, so you say yes.
See how it works?
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Good to hear from you. Tragic and honestly digusting news about those shootings. So sad that people feel that degree of hatred to act to hurt others.
On a brighter note thought your reflections of success were insightful. Certainly I used to be ambitious and career driven and this determined my destiny. Until I hit the buffers literally and felt so unhappy …. cognitive dissonance became compelling so to listened to my inner talk and needed to get off the corportae treadmill. I decided to follow my true values instead. I changed career and started to give myself permission to give time to myself. Being a highly driven person I found the journey a difficult one. I now am self employed and also lecture at a University in Northrtn Ireland. Very gratifying sharing my knowledge with diverse people and helping them to fulfil their potential. One big lesson is to be around people that value you but most of all value yourself to give yourself the permission to let loose and be free. Powerful stuff. So now I feel contentment. So thank you for those reminders in your blog. Love how you both share your feelings.
Being grateful and enjoying others is a joy. You both give so much. A big hug and slante as the Irish say☘☘☘
That’s a lovely story! Thanks for sharing! Very happy to hear that you’ve found that contentment in your life. Sending love back!
Inspiring reads girls and I love your IG page! Tell me if you had one piece of advice for two over 55 girls who have dated for 6 months ( and i just gir the big L word-im giddy!), what would that be?