Redefining success in 2025

Redefining success in 2025

At the start of each year, there’s a tendency to get caught up in the new year’s resolution hype, which often involves statements like “new year, new you” and various other extremes.  I get it, the new year brings a refreshed sense of energy, a convenient point in time to set a new vision and new goals, but why do we need a “new you”?  

I think it’s because of how we measure progress and how we measure success.  Very often our metric is something tangible, like kilograms or hours or Rands or a job title, or something that’s extreme, like a “new” version of a human being or something you are “going to do every day”.  Our definition of success is what can be seen physically or captured on a graph, because this is how we’ve trained our brains to think about success.  

But what if this year was different?  What if we measured progress and success in how we feel or what we do less of?  What if we measured shifts in a metric other than a number or a title?  What if we embraced a new kind of success that might have nothing to do with perfection or ticking the box every day.  

This kind of success allows us to consider all the parts of our lives that bring us joy.  This kind of success gives you a proud nod when you listen to your body and go for a walk rather than a run.  This kind of success allows you to be vulnerable when you don’t know the answers or when you don’t have it all figured out, which means you’re more likely to ask for help than hide behind that “everything’s perfect” mask. This kind of success is kind, it’s grace giving, it celebrates small shifts, not just the big event.  

For me this year, this kind of success looks like:

more presence, less frazzle

more peace, less anxiety over what I cannot control

more joy, even when things feel tough

more energy from doing things that fill my cup, less doing things that don’t

more progress, less perfection

more kindness, to others and myself

 

and this is how I’m going about it:

  1. I know what is most important to me in this season

When we move through seasons of life on some version of autopilot, without pausing every now and again to reassess what’s most important, we find ourselves trying to be everything to everyone and do everything for everyone.  This is not how our lives were meant to be.  Each of us has a unique set of gifts, talents, people to love and impact to make.  If we keep trying to be everything to everyone and doing everything for everyone, our unique contribution will never be felt and we will be discontent and dissatisfied. 

So, sit down and figure out what is most important to you now.  It could be your health, your wellbeing, your work, overcoming an unhealthy habit, your marriage, your children, or a combination of these and others.  Figure it out, write it out and commit to these things as your priority. 

  1. I know what success looks like for each of my most important things

I’ve defined success in each area of my life that is important to me now.  Success for me here is not always a number, but sometimes a feeling, sometimes an impact that is made, sometimes a mindset.  It’s important to know what this success looks like in each area because if we don’t specifically define it, we’ll default to the world’s version of success and not experience our own progress, even when it does happen.  

So, define success in each of your important areas.  Ask yourself – “what does success look like for me here?”.  Write that down too, alongside your list from step 1. 

  1. I’m realistic about my capacity

Capacity is the time, energy and focus we have to give to the demands of our lives.  We invest our capacity in all the things we say yes to, all the things that take up space in our minds, all the things that are blocked out in our calendars and on our to-do lists.  Our capacity should be invested first in the things that are most important to us because that is where we’re going to get a return on our investment, which is the shift towards the success we define in step 2.  

Each of us has a unique amount of capacity and it is not limitless, so we’ve got to learn to invest it and manage it wisely.  I’ve learnt to say “no” more, to be transparent about my availability and what I can and can’t do, I’ve learnt to align my actions to my words.  It’s not been easy, and will always be a work in progress, but gosh, it feels so good when we choose to invest our capacity in what matters most.  

So, start paying attention to the things you’re committing to, the balls in your juggle.  Are they your most important balls, or are those lying in a heap on the floor?  You can’t do it all.  Choose.  

  1. I’m practical about the actions

I am a human, not a machine.  And guess what?  You’re human too.  And as humans, we make mistakes, we say stuff we don’t mean to, we think things that make us feel miserable, we don’t follow through when we have the best intentions to.  So, how can we make it easier for ourselves to be human?  By being practical about the actions we set ourselves to achieve the success we define for ourselves. 

If you’ve defined success as a number and your actions as an everyday effort, I’m not holding my breath that you’re going to sustain that action over the long term (sorry!).  It’s just not practical.  Yes, we can get excited about a new goal and give it our all for a few weeks maybe, but our excitement will eventually run out and we won’t make any progress at all after that.  

So, be practical about the actions.  Aim for the 1% shifts rather than the 100% shifts, in the areas that matter most (ie. aligned to the areas identified in step 1).  Break it down to the smallest possible action – these add up to big shifts over time. 

  1. I’m celebrating progress

A lot of the time we hold off the celebration until we’ve reached that big thing – the big number, the big title, the big goal.  But there are so, so many small wins along the way that we lose out on celebrating because we don’t notice them, because our measurement of success is skewed. 

When I am less anxious about something that went wrong, but it was out of my control or not that big of a deal anyway, that’s progress.  When I’m present – in person and mind – when I pick up my daughter from school, that’s progress.  When I laugh along to my son’s really stupid joke, even when I’ve had a challenging work day that’s being over-analysed in my mind, that’s progress.  

So, pay attention to the small shifts, the small joys, the moments of colour.  Notice them and celebrate them.  That’s progress. 

As we move into 2025, let’s redefine success on our own terms. Let’s understand what is most important to us and have the courage to lean into those things boldly.  And when we do, let’s celebrate all the wins, not just the big ones.

 

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