Have you ever heard the quote,
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it..” by Maya Angelou?
Angelou reciting her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at US President Bill Clinton's inauguration, January 20, 1993
(Source: By Clinton Library - William J. Clinton Presidential Library, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67072902)
In so many ways this quote is a solid definition that we could all learn from. Timothy and I often talk to our clients about success and their definitions of it. When I think of the word and when you think of the word, we see two different things, guaranteed.
This may be because we hold varying beliefs, values, and mindsets. We’re able to see what success looks like to us. For me, I can attach the feeling of accomplishment to walking across the stage to receive my bachelor’s degree. While for you, it may look like buying your first house, earning your first $1 in your business, or landing your dream job.
We like to emphasize to our clients that while our definitions of success vary greatly, we can still feel the feelings that the word success elicits, right? I am able to go back to the day I graduated and still feel the overwhelming joy, and satisfaction. I can hear my peers and family cheering as they called my name.
So, how do you define your success? As the great Maya Angelou said, it’s all about you! It’s your definition, it’s your feeling, and it’s the pride you have in what you do. I’ll ask you a few questions to get you started:
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What does success feel like to me?
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What do I hear when I think of success?
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How am I successful right now in my everyday life? (if it’s waking up in the morning, getting out of bed, getting dressed, then I applaud you!)
Question #3 is super paramount. Recognizing the success that you are in your everyday life is key to feeling fulfillment, self love, and progress. I could go about my day remembering the time I graduated college and hold on to that feeling, AND I can recognize that I exercised, saw clients, and made myself a healthy meal today.
We tend to remind our clients that celebrating the everyday successes is just as important as celebrating the major events in our lives. When we’re able to see that we do amazing things every single day, we can appreciate ourselves, what we do, and how we do the things we do more and more. This sounds pretty damn satisfying, right?
You are successful. You are badass. You are enough.