5 Ways To Measure True Success

John Foster Dulles said, “The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it’s the same problem you had last year.”

How often do we find ourselves facing the same problems over and over again? Or repeating the same New Year’s resolutions year after year? Does that sound like success? 

The leadership gurus preach that what gets measured gets improved and done. 

Perhaps the greatest measure of success is evaluating our lives to see if we’re headed in the right direction to know if we should keep going or turn back or what to do to get going again if we’ve stalled. 

Yes, measuring your success reveals whether you’re reaching your short-term and long-term goals, whether they need to be changed or updated, and if you need to change direction.

But everyone’s definition of success is different.

Some people measure success by how much they earn. Others by the impact they’re making. 

According to experts, here are five ways to measure success that work for just about everybody. Have a look. 

How Much Do You Believe in Yourself?

Know what you stand for and what you stand against; know yourself. Believe in yourself. Know your values, principles, standards, and beliefs. This is self-confidence and the first step in measuring your success. 

Someone who compromises their beliefs and values isn’t successful regardless of how many symbols of success they’ve acquired. 

 Self-confidence (not arrogance) doesn’t magically appear overnight. 

You’ll enjoy inner peace and high self-esteem when you figure out who you are, what kind of life you want to live, and what contribution you want to make. 

You’ll live each day unlocking your best life when you own who you are and want to become, which is one of the highest measures of success. 

Living to please people and satisfy their expectations is a highway to misery and failure. 

Failure is living your life to fit in or be accepted and surrendering to someone else’s priorities and values. Eventually, you’ll feel hopeless, defeated, and exhausted. 

You and only you should be writing your life story. 

Are Your Tasks Moving The Right Needle?

We can’t escape tasks. What we spend our time and energy on will either move us forward, keep us stuck, or pull us backward. 

How you choose to use your time during the day is one of the most significant indicators of success! 

Measure how you use your time – track how you spend your day. Why? Because it reveals your actual priorities, not just the ones you talk about or dream about. 

Even if you’re busy most of your waking hours, you might not be getting anywhere. Are you doing the right thing at the right time or coasting along in a flurry of activity?

To make the most of your time, create a schedule and track how you spend every hour; better yet, track how you spend every ten minutes throughout your day. 

Any task you can hand over to others should be delegated to free up time for you to focus on core tasks that help you achieve personal and professional success.

Are You Comparing Yourself to the Right Person?

Look at who you were yesterday, last month, last year, two, three, four, five years ago. Are you growing and moving forward? What areas of your life have improved? What areas haven’t changed or have declined?

Measure yourself against who you were and how far you’ve come. 

Will you have made drastic success in every major area? Probably not. And maybe not in most areas. Maybe you’ve failed in some areas…but failure is part of the learning process. 

It’s been said that losers quit when they fail, but winners fail until they win. It’s a little corny but true.

Measure yourself against who you were yesterday to see what you need to change and adjust to reach your goals today.

Are You Living Your Inner Peace?

Success shouldn’t cost you your peace. 

What fills you with peace? Providing for your family? Serving your community? Being actively involved in your faith community? Making a global impact? Caring for your elderly parents?

Maybe it’s living an “ordinary” joy-filled life, doing what you love, and enjoying your work, friends, and family.

Evaluate your success to measure if it gives you peace or steals it.

What’s The Quality of Your Relationships?

We were designed to love, be loved, and flourish within healthy relationships. 

Love and connection are a measure of success. 

One of the best ways to measure your success is by the company you keep. Do you feel loved and supported? Do you love and support others, or keep to yourself and live in social isolation?

Surround yourself with people who lift you up, inspire you to do better and be better, and help you unlock your best life. 

Henry Ford said, “Always demanding the best of oneself, living with honor, devoting one’s talents and gifts to the benefits of others – these are the measures of success that endure when material things have passed away.”