INSIGHT: How Do You (Re)Define Success?
Sustainable Me
Stopping is difficult. The holidays generate two competing forces for me: the race to finish a perpetual list of work, the other to slow down and savor the pivotal season. Vacations don’t come easily for me, either psychologically or logistically. Anyone who is growing an enterprise, not to mention trying to birth an emerging professional discipline, knows that leaving the cockpit, even for a short period, can take focused determination. Acknowledging, let alone attending to, my needs has become a more important element of my sustainability efforts the longer I’ve pursued them. It’s one of my weaknesses, and yet is essential to long-term viability. This year, I’ve felt more professionally successful than in many of the past twelve since starting Foresight. I’m the opposite of burnt-out, and yet know from experience that, ironically, in this feeling are the seeds for future potential exhaustion. Success isn’t necessarily arriving at some predetermined destination, but rather having achieved the perspective to identify and manage my needs for the long haul.