So let’s talk, just you and me.
How do you define success?
If you’re engaged in the business/corporate world, you’ll be familiar with the term “KPI”. Which is Key Performance Indicator.
So I ask again, what’s your life’s KPI?
A lot of times, our definition of success is informed by how everyone else defines success but us.
We’re always trying to measure up to everyone’s expectation(s); family, friends, mentors, coworkers, bosses, neighbors, etc.
We’re just always in a constant state of measuring up. We barely stop to ask ourselves what this success of a thing means to us.
This used to be me some years back. Success to me meant working in one of the biggest multinationals, bagging degrees, earning good money, and taking care of my folks.
I dreamt of being in board rooms, being the desire of top organizations, being on respected stages/platforms sharing my knowledge, experience, etc.
Truth is, it all started off well. My first job as a graduate was as a Retail Sales Executive at Guinness Nigeria Plc. It was a choice job.
As far as I was concerned, I was living the life, I was well on my way to becoming successful. I was traveling and sleeping at 5-star, or maybe 4-star hotels when we had meetings. I had my official ride, it was a Toyota Hilux and I loved it (this is where my obsession for trucks emanated from 😁), I rented a 2-bedroom apartment and furnished it well.
I could afford anything I wanted at the time. Life was sweet! I was living my best life. This was all I really wanted after all.
But then reality began to dawn on me, and I realized I still felt completely empty. I had this shiny life that was empty. At the time, I didn’t realize that it was the emptiness that was ruining me. I just felt I was being ungrateful, and that made things worse.
My life had become so empty that I wasn’t going to church anymore, I wasn’t praying or studying the bible, and I strayed very far from God, and made some horrible decisions. Some of which I still struggle with today.
The story is quite long, but I eventually decided to resign. Then another level of chaos erupted, from people telling me how I didn’t know how lucky I was, to how there are no jobs in the country, to how I was being reckless and taking advantage of being the last born, you get the gist.
Anyway, things escalated really quickly, I relocated back to Lagos and I kept making horrible decisions one after the other.
Long story short, I eventually rediscovered myself and quickly realized that I had a thwarted definition of success for my life, hence the emptiness. I had almost all the things I wanted but nothing I needed.
Eventually, God helped me define what success meant according to His plans for my life. I’ll still be rich financially, be in board rooms, and speak on platforms. I don’t know about the degrees 😂, but it’s no longer the definition of success for me, nor is it the motivation.
I no longer look at the progress of my peers and ask myself if I’m a potato 😂. Sometimes comparison tries to rear its ugly head, but it’s a lot easier to shut it down now that I know what success means to me.
My life is no longer as “shiny” as it used to be, but I’m content, happy, and whole.
And now you’re probably wondering, “so what does success mean to you now?”. I could give you a very long list, but in a nutshell, it simply means fulfilling the Heart of my Father through Positive, Meaningful Impact. It’s on this basis that I score everything I do.
So I ask yet again, What’s your definition of success? What’s your KPI?
____
~ The Christian Feminist ~
You still a bag of potatoes Lol! but a good one at that living a life according to Gods plan has a special kind of feel to it. And it getting better knowing that whatever life throws at you He is there every step of the way