Can you feel the shift happening? The shift in the way we think, feel, interpret, and react to changes in the economy, our jobs, our friends and families, and ordinary every day happenings. Don’t be afraid . . . it means that we are finding new paths for success. When a human brain is damaged and the normal path for neurons is interrupted, eventually the neurons will find new pathways around the damage. That is exactly what is happening in the face of our damaged economy and in many cases our damaged finances. I would argue that our new pathways are not only going to be different, but stronger and better than ever. A part of that stronger and better will include a new and improved definition of success. A much needed, healthier, less materialistic definition of success!
Success should be individualistic and not a generalization. For a long time we have been using broad sweeping definitions based on some group that you supposedly fit into to define whether or not you have been successful. It has been the culturally-correct thing to do. It’s certainly what I did! Success should be based on your passions and the amount of compassion and help you grant to the earth and its inhabitants. Success will be more about a healthy savings account instead of the latest model Lexus. More about getting the mortgage paid down or paid off instead of the search for more square feet. More about the joy in saving up for something you really want instead of racking up credit card debts. It will be about finding out what makes your heart sing and what brings joy to your day. About listening more to your heart and less to what everyone else is saying and doing.
I can’t wait for the new definition because the old one is exhausting. Quite frankly, the expectation to quickly get to a six figure income, live in a huge house, drive the latest in luxury cars, wear the trendiest of clothes, and take the most exotic vacations is a lot of pressure. I personally won’t miss it.
Remember when you were kid and your relatives or parent’s friends were always asking you what you wanted to be when you grew up? You answered with what sounded the most fun with no regard for how much it paid. I personally was going to be a horse trainer, a veterinarian, a helicopter pilot, and yes, an underwater welder. Never anywhere in the equation was a desk-bound finance executive. Somehow, as we grow into adulthood an unspoken set of criteria eeks into our decision making process. Somewhere along the way we have confused wealth and happiness. We all may admit to understanding the absurdity of that from an intellectual standpoint, but it doesn’t seem to have stopped us from wanting to try just in case you actually can buy happiness.
Now is the perfect time to reassess our definition of success. In fact, we don’t really have a choice. With continued layoffs in the financial sector, many will ultimately end up in new industries all together. In the end, I believe, there will be many people who will look back at these times and credit their newly found and much happier careers and lives to the financial crisis.
Throughout my unscientific study of human behavior in the work place, I have discovered that many things boil down to courage. Do you have the courage to have the career of your passions and the life you desire no matter what the pay scale, or will you always choose the job that pays the most?
