Defining Success

This is a little different than a usual post, but it is something that I think about every once in awhile. I think we all do. I struggle with this and I am not alone I know, but success is so hard to define and feel like we achieve. Life is just sticky and hard in general, so I tend to over evaluate it. 🎊
For the longest time, I defined success ✨ as getting out of my home state, which I did 🎉. Once I was in Denver I was still kinda blah so I have been trying to figure out the next goal(s). I keep an eye on productivity subs and if you browse these you get a lot of the same items pushed over and over. Get up early, get enough sleep, exercise, etc
I decided to nab my favorite tips while working on my own. My favorite overall is think like a gardener - i.e. plan ahead, as gardeners plan seasons ahead to get the best from their crops, so should you plan months ahead. In some cases that may mean just doing the best you can now, in others is good to think seasons ahead. I am really frugal and I start planning holidays very far in advance. You can get great deals after a season, super before and if you save properly you can get what you want easier. Retail taught me that. By the time people want a Christmas tree, the best ones are gone. Its always better to think ahead. ✨
The next one I always get lip on, some people annoy the heck out of me. If you do not know something - Ask questions. I hate this one because there are many people who just grumble if you ask them something if you do not know. Which is super annoying, but it is still better to ask than to do it twice, or worse. This goes hand in hand with Immersion learning - which is basically dumping you in the middle of nowhere and having the person learn as they go and by need. I hate this method. I loved school and learning in a classroom. I do not like being thrown in the pond to learn to swim. They say it brings about success, but I find it very annoying. This is one of those things however, you need to PUSH through. Even though its hard, struggle is good for us and you probably do learn by need faster. Even if its more frustrating. Always 💫 keep learning.
Next, it seems you need to do some soul-searching. 😰 This is pretty basic, but on a less cliche level, I do think just sitting around and daydreaming helps. I spend more time than I should playing minecraft. I love that game, it really is a stress reliever. I make a new game almost every day and just play for a few hours or so to relax or if I am really out of it. We are in an apartment but I also use to just lay around outside. I love grass and just laying in it and relaxing is great. I think however you do it, you need to take time to de-stress and relax and you will feel better and more clear headed. I also do Yoga but it kicks my butt still, so not super relaxing.
Another item I see a lot is to have Integrity. To this means you should stand for something, and try to keep it. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes but you should kinda know where you stand on issues. Not to say it may not change with more information but trying to be the best person and having a good solid mantra is always good. This goes hand in hand with Grow your network and remove weeds. This essentially means to cut the people in your life, or habits or anything else, out that are actually hindering you from growing. This is probably harder for more people than anything else. Its hard to break habits, or say I should not hang out with this person any more. I have trouble doing the opposite, I am terrible at networking. I am not sure why. I am friendly but I have never sought out people for company. As a result I am happy alone or with few friends, which works for me, but is bad for growing your network. I really have to work at it to introduce myself to people and, well honestly, care. Its not that I do not, its just I like my life and am comfortable. Again I have to PUSH through that and try to get more people interested in me and my ideas. Its hard. But do able.
Next, I see this a lot and I am not sure what I think of it - Make a decision and take massive action. This one I DO understand, but I am not sure I like it 😒 . Decisions made today are better than one made never, I get that. However I like to take small actions resulting in a larger long term goal. Essentially this means if you tweak something, perfect it, etc it will never be as good as you see in your head, and if you had just released it or done it, it would have probably been fine and you could have gotten feedback and improved it faster. I get this but I am unsure in practice.
Finally, Track your progress. 😞 Der. If you do not have a goal, you cannot track your progress. So starting with a goal, its good to set smaller goals as needed, and track where you are on reaching that main goal. There are SO many sites that promote rewards and tracking. I am playing with Coach.me right now. I also like the concept of the RPG style one. This would be great with kids. You could even make your own based on the same principals - rewards for goals reached, exp for smaller goals and 'drop' rewards for random achievements. I can imagine making this would be really fun. For me I keep to-dos on a daily basis, and have a monthly goal(s) as needed. I do not have a longer term goal as of yet since I am still soul searching for what I would.
I would say I would love to be a blogger all day, do art when I want and make plenty of money to do it and stay home. However I know myself and I do not think I would be happy in the house all day. I think I need a combination work/love in my life. I would like to do that work as retail at decent pay and the other love half as blogging and art. I think that would be more ideal. When I was a kid I liked the idea of being a writer, but I do not know if I could do that. Star was on the list as well, so I do not think those are super realistic. 😶 Life is finding out after all. ❤