8 Steps to Redefining Your Definition of Success

Success is a term that by general human nature, has a common definition among people of being the most powerful and wealthy figure they can be. It doesn’t occur to a lot of people that there’s so much more to success that just money and power.

People scream this to you all the time but many just choose to ignore it because they only want the money.

And all you have to do before continuing to read this, is ask yourself, is that really your definition of success? Would you rather have a tonne of money, but end in a state of depression and exhaustion that you can’t control?

Here’s how to redefine your definition of success, to still include wealth, but not neglect your well being, your friendships or your natural generosity that should arise from being a kind human being.

1) Sort Your Sleeping Pattern out

Just because you’re working into the early hours of the morning and then only getting a few hours of sleep, doesn’t mean you’re being incredibly productive. It just means you’re working until your mind’s burnt out and that’s neither good in the short term or long term.

You’re quality of work will be much lower when you’re extremely tired, so you still need good sleep to keep your brain refreshed and ready to crack on with some more work.

6 hours of solid sleep is great, because it means that you’re getting the minimum amount that your mind and body needs, and you’re also giving yourself a couple of extra hours in your day, instead of laying in.

2) Exercise to Alleviate Stress and Stay Healthy

I often find that a workout after a long day’s work actually calms me down and relaxes me. I hear a lot of people say that they’re too tired to workout when they come home from work, but I think they’re just too lazy.

You will feel much more refreshed after you’ve alleviated all your stress by getting some decent exercise.

It also helps keep you healthy, especially if your job requires you to be sitting down for most of the time. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch said that during the first 5 years of starting the blog, he gained 50 pounds. Is that what you want?

3) Know When to Call it a Day

There is such a thing as overworking, don’t get too carried away by the fact that you have to work hard to get where you want to be. This is true, but it’s all about being productive with your time. And not just that, but also actually being happy!

No amount of money in the world can redeem the years you wasted doing something you hated.

If you’re working until you pass out, then you need to take a step back and drop it down a notch. You can’t do everything in one day, that’s just not how things work.

4) Give to the Less Fortunate

When we have this ultimate goal of earning as much money as possible, it’s pretty easy to forget that so many people out there have it so much worse than you. Would it kill you to help out others who are less fortunate than you?

Giving to others makes you feel good, it makes you realize just how grateful you should be for what you have, and helping another human being out is the best gesture of all. So next time you’re out and about, do something good for someone less fortunate.

5) Set Aside Time to Relax

Anybody who’s a workaholic will find the easiest thing possible, the hardest to do. Relaxation is a great way of actually helping you bring any inspiration and brilliant ideas to the front of your mind.

Whenever you’re trying so hard to think of something; you know what I’m talking about when you’re staring at a blank page racking your brain to get something, anything, to spill out. But it just won’t, whereas if you actually stop trying to think so hard and relax, something creative may just hit you like a light bulb.

6) Rethink Your Overall Goals

Are your overall goals really about money and fame? Or did you just start out with those goals? Now you find yourself tiring, struggling and becoming pretty stressed out, so maybe it’s time to have a rethink.

Shouldn’t the overall goal be happiness? Isn’t that what we all want in life? It’s just that ways of becoming happy can be misconceived and now would be a good time to re-evaluate what makes you happy.

7) Get Some Fresh Air

Go outdoors and actually let some light hit your face for once! You’ve been too busy working like crazy looking at a screen that you’ve probably forgotten what daylight looks like. Go outside, get some fresh air, check out some of the scenery that you might not have seen before and let yourself recharge.

8) Spend Time With People Who Care About You

You may be too busy working on making yourself a tonne of money, that you forget about the people that care about you, the people that support you. Come on, you shouldn’t be neglecting people that care about you a great deal. I learnt this the hard way.

Make some plans to see friends, family, or perhaps just some quiet time alone with your partner, away from the laptops, the cell phones and so on.