One of the problems with motivating people to be their best is that each of us has to determine what success looks like to ourselves. The key is to not get hung up on how well others seem to be doing. From where you stand, their path might seem easier and maybe it is. But whether it is actually easy or difficult, the real question is whether the path others are taking leads to where you want to be?
Thomas Edison held more than a thousand U.S. Patents. He invented things that changed the world and are still in use today. But, for every Thomas Edison, there is a Leonardo DaVinci, whose contributions were arguably greater and spanned nearly all fields of discovery, from art to artillery. Yet, except for art, most of DaVinci’s ideas for inventions – such as the airplane, machine gun, and armored tank – were ignored. Who was the greater man? Two people can have two perfectly defensible opinions.
So, you can define success however you like, just make sure you’re on the path you want to be. For me, success is measured by peace of mind. What gives me peace of mind? Motivating myself to improve every day, choosing to spend my life the way I want to, and knowing that I have stability in my life.
What do I get for all of that? I’m able to seek out significance in everything I do. That’s my path.
Here are three suggestions on how to find yours.
1. Decide and define what’s important in your life.
Some say the end goal is the key while others believe the journey itself is the best part. What I know for certain is that you need to know where you’re going before you can decide how to get there. Think about four areas in your life: wealth, family, health, and career. Write down your first thoughts about where you are right now in each of those areas.
Now think about the most successful version of yourself: the Super You. Don’t limit your thinking. This is a thought exercise. How would the Super You envision each of those areas? How much wealth has this Super You accumulated? What does your relationship with your family look like? How healthy are you and how does that affect your life? What has Super You accomplished career-wise?
See the distance between where you are and where the Super You is? That’s your goal. Now find your path.
2. Create a set of key performance indicators (KPIs).
If you don’t know how to get from where you are to where you want to be, then do some research. Learn what others have done to achieve the same things and adopt those methods. How much money should you be saving and how often? What familial relationships need work and how? To what health issues are you prone and what can you do about it? Does your current career offer a path to advancement or should you be looking for something else?
Think about KPIs for each of these and develop a plan for meeting them.
3. Keep track and measure your advancement toward success.
Every day you should write down what you did to move yourself along your chosen path. Restating your goals each time and demonstrating progress will affect how you view the world. Eventually, you’ll train your brain to seek out opportunities to advance your goals. Success can be measured in inches or miles as long as you’re making progress.
Your path is your own. It takes strength, patience, and an ability to recognize opportunity to become that Super You. Along the way, it can be very helpful to look back to see how far you’ve come. It may seem like inches now, but they add up – and you’re lapping those who won’t take that first step.
This story was originally published on AllBusiness.com.
