How do you measure success compared to before?

JH

As a JW, success meant pioneering, commenting at the hall and book study, and going up the JW ladder.

How about now, how do you mesure success and happiness?

I notice a major shift in this when I left Bethel. At bethel all success is measured in terms of your "career" and moving up the ladder. this changed quite a bit afterward. Now- I think of success in terms of that overused poem that basically comes to the point of "sucess is making someone else's life better"

delilah

Most importantly, JH............we are successful in rearing our children the normal, happy way, without the interference of the WTBTS. Making sure our children have every opportunity to succeed in this world, furthering their education, and for them to have fun playing sports, and making good friends. We let them be kids....

I never was one for climbing that social ladder at the KH...I could have cared less, that sister so-in-so was pioneering and giving talks and had x number of studies, and oh isn't she just so wonderful??? Seems to me, in my congregation anyways, that those who were so busy climbing that social ladder had truck loads of troubles, and they were the worst back-stabbing lot around. They were people I didn't want to be around anyways.

lrkr

we are successful in rearing our children the normal, happy way, without the interference of the WTBTS. Making sure our children have every opportunity to succeed in this world, furthering their education, and for them to have fun playing sports, and making good friends. We let them be kids...

Definately with you on this one- one of the main reasons I've started to fade

MR. BORN AGAIN

Success now is being a better father, a better husband, a better friend and even a more loving enemy. Success is following your heart and doing your little part in making society better...being able to deal with people with different views than your own with love. Being free in itself is success. Being able to THINK BIG, DREAM and to have peace of mind is SUCCESS!

jaguarbass

As a JW, success meant pioneering, commenting at the hall and book study, and going up the JW ladder.

How about now, how do you mesure success and happiness?

1.	the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.

2.	the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.

3.	a successful performance or achievement: The play was an instant success.

4.	a person or thing that is successful: She was a great success on the talk show.

I've always measured success by the ability to leave the rat race. I guess I'm not very successful because I have to be in the rat race at least 8 more years.

If you could just answer to no one and live your life as you wanted that would be success.

To the degree that you have to answer to someone that diminishes my success.

I guess I measure my success by wealth. The more wealth you have the more options you have to create more freedom for yourself.

But the dictionary says success is the favorable termination of attempts or endeavors or my paraphrase if you set out to do something you acomplish it.

So If I attempt to go to 7-11 today and buy a case of ice house, most likely I will be a success. If I pay all my bills this month I will be a success. I got up this afternoon and was hungry, I had a success in feeding myself some rice beans garlic and onions.

When I play out with my band people clap and cheer, so our performance is a success.

Happiness. Thats a do it yourself feeling. I am pretty happy right now sitting here posting on JWd. Happiness and contentment are pretty similar. I am content to sit here and post. I cant say I'm estatic.

The dictionary says happiness is being delighted. Its been a long time since Ive been delighted. I guess I was delighted when I got my job with the state, and then I made it through probation. So now things are going pretty good. I'm on a steady even keel and I tend to confuse that with a rut. So I will give thanks right now for the steady contended course I am on. And tell you I am happy and delighted.

helncon

As you get older you tend to measure success in different ways in my teens i was just happy to be able to go out with friends and live life

In my 20's i wanted a good job and good company

Now starting in my 30's i measure my success to the fact that i have little to no regrets, a roof over my head, food on the table, happy healthy children and have little concern how others may think about me.

What i want in the future will just happen.

What happened in the past oh well can't change that now, just learn from it all.

monophonic

oh, i remember the thought process from years ago....being a pioneer and ms was important to get the hot spiritual jw chicks. being under the jw thumb squashed my creativity. every time i'd try to do a creative project, i was always hit with, you'll have time for that in the new system, you'd better spend your time pioneering. that was nailed into me when i took classes, worked on music (all bands, satanic and drug users...funny, now i'm a music journalist and many bands put that on as an image, but work really hard to succeed), writing, everything. when i stopped going to meetings b/c i conveniently moved halls and dropped out, there was drama there, but that's another story, i started writing film articles and the feedback i received was, 'some of those movies you're watching are unchristian'. that period in my life is when it really hit me, my purpose was to be a writer and work in film and music, it always had been, it's what i'm good at, it's what i'd do for free and do even if i had millions of $$s. i also realized that if god was really how the bible says, he gave us creativity, so, i had my own renaissance period of sorts. success is finding your purpose, what you're great at and what you love and developing that to the best of your ability. that brings contentment, which attracts the right people to you. it took me years to come to that realization and i've succeeded more than ever over the last seven years....and since i'm 'inactive', i still get the second hand talk of my old ex-friends who are seething with jealousy at my freedom, but masking it with their own self righteous dogma to justify their continued idiocy. great question....caused me to babble a bit. as to the other responses, family success is great...my wife still attends meetings, though she barely goes out in service, maybe twice a year, but we have an understanding that has caused friction here and there, but for the most part i wouldn't change a thing....so success in marriage and partnership is high on my list as well.

LtCmd.Lore

As a witness I knew I was successfull if I had more than 10 hours in fieldservice per month, if I gave a part at the meeting, if I answered more than once on Sundays, if I placed all my magazines.

Now it's a lot easier. I can check at any point in the day without using a calculator: If I happen to notice that I'm happy, then I know I'm successfull. Easy as that.

Lore

choosing life

If I am enjoying life and helping my loved ones to enjoy it also, then what more could I ask for?

My kids are raised, but I want to be there for them no matter what and my grandchildren just keep coming.

I do some things to give back to society and to help the less fortunate.

That is success to me.

How do you measure success compared to before?

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