How do you measure success? (page 2)

Sad emo

Success for me is measured by contentment/inner peace.

If I take away everything - things, friends, family and am left alone to reflect, will I be at peace and content with what I have done with my life?

Deep stuff

trevor

Surely - the measure of success is whether you have succeeded in achieving what you set out to.

If your aim is to drift through life and achieve nothing and you succeed in this, then you are successful.

Terry

Success can be defined best by looking at its opposite: FAILURE!

None of us are the slightest bit confused about what failure is!

What we set out to do (for whatever reason) ends up not turning out the way we wanted it to and that is failure.

So, success has to involve setting a goal and finding that everything worked out just as planned.

How often does that happen? Not often, unless we set very modest goals.

There was a time in my life I had enough money to where I didn't think about the cost of anything. I'd eat at whatever restaurant I enjoyed and never worry over the bill. Or, I'd buy clothes that appealed to me and the price was of no consequence. Money brings nothing much but a more relaxed approach to living.

I've been in love and married and divorced. Things went from idyllic to impossibly narrow and uncomfortable--that was failure.

Success for me isn't even a consideration anymore in terms of obtaining something or someone. I live, if not in the moment, in the day and sometimes in the hour.

If I could have anything I wanted it would be to move back to Los Angeles and live in the South Bay area and have my kids living there too. But, for too many reasons, that will not happen.

Success isn't an issue anymore. Being practical I balance life between frustrations and try to be useful to myself and to my children. I find there is very little I want, not much I need and not many I care to share life with on a deeper level because of the commitment involved.

Joy is pretty much a self-created state of mind. I prefer joy. I like to laugh and make others laugh. I find the light-hearted groove. I don't take too many things very seriously. JWD is where I come to unleash the beast in my brain.

Success? Staying healthy is good. I'm outrageously healthy!

Brother Apostate

I always try to remember the old adage that he who is rich is the one who needs the least.

Or, as another fellow put it:

Success: To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded! ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

BA- Strives for success

BlackSwan of Memphis

Hm, ok, not to get all weird but, first I have to have a definition of success before I can measure it.

To define success:

suc·cess (sk-ss) KEY

NOUN:

The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted:attributed their success in business to hard work.
The gaining of fame or prosperity: an artist spoiled by success.
The extent of such gain.
One that is successful: The plan was a success.
ObsoleteA result or an outcome.

Ok, so what am I attempting to be succssful at?

Life?

Well, I hope to get to the end of my life, knowing that I've been faithful to those that I love and that they have loved me enough to be faithful to me. I hope to get to the end of my life knowing that I've gained the trust of the people that I love, including my children and my neighbors. I hope to get to the end of my life, accomplishing something, even the smallest detail, that makes this world a better place to live in and if loving and being faithful to the ones I love does this, then that would be good.
If I can accomplish these things, then I would say my life has been a success.

Brigid

Black Swan, you really said it all, hon. I'm sure that you're successful by your definition.

My definition of success has evolved with time and I'm sure it has not seen its final definition in my schema. I used to think it meant being happy--as happy as possible all the time. I still attach great value on contentment and happiness but it's not the end all and be all for me anymore. It's a by-product and I am happy most of the time. However, out of pain, comes great growth, which is where I'm at right now on success, growing and learning as much as one can.

I'm not finished by a long shot on success but that is the human experience, once one goal is achieved, one must have another.....growth...death....decay...rebirth

trevor

The goals that we pursue when we are younger, change with the years and so does the way we measure success.

I have mostly achieved what I wanted to over the years and measure success differently now. If I can say that I am enjoying my life and am pleased with how each day unfolds, then I count that as success. The realization that time is rapidly passing causes me to realize the value of time in a way that I never could when I was younger.

I find myself stopping to enjoy the sight of and admire the spring flowers, instead of cars! Though I still like to watch pretty women - some things never change!

juni

That man is a success who has lived

well, laughed often and loved much;

who has gained the respect of intelligent

men and the love of children; who has

filled his niche and accomplished his

task; who leaves the world better than

he found it, whether by an improved

poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul;

who never lacked appreciation of earth's

beauty or failed to express it; who

looked for the best in others and gave

the best he had.

~~~Robert Louis Stevenson

JUNI

avidbiblereader

Well put Juni, nice poem!!!

abr

How do you measure success?

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