Measuring Success

How do you measure success?

For a while, I was doing it wrong.  I’ve been looking just at the numbers.  How much of this or how many of that.  Comparing numbers from year to year, comparing my numbers to others.  I’m normally not even a numbers person, but for the last six months, I’ve let them rule my world.

I’ve let numbers define who I am, I’ve let numbers dictate my mood, I’ve let numbers drive me to misery.

Last week, I was listening to a new podcast.  It’s called Community Made by Jayson Gaignard.  I was turned onto it thanks to a recent online course I had been taking, and picked an episode at random.  It was season one, episode 5 (Lessons from the Edge) where Jayson interviews Jordan Guernsey, a very successful entrepreneur who was diagnosed with some serious cancer.  Jordan had to step away from his business during his treatment, and it changed his life.

He explains for years, his happiness was driven by his business.  The numbers are what defined his success, and he spent most of his time focusing in on his work life.  When he stepped away from working all the time, he started to see how beautiful life outside of his office was.  He reconnected with his wife, spent tons of time with his children, did a lot of meditation and yoga.  Despited being ill, he felt fulfilled and truly happy for the first time in years.  He said that cancer was truly a gift and it really saved him.  Jordan lost the battle with cancer, and although no longer around on this earth, his story truly inspired me.

I no longer want to measure my success by numbers.  How many followers on instagram, how many people read this blog, how many weddings I’m booking, or how much money I bring in.  I want to measure success based upon my happiness, and I have so much to be happy for.  I’m in a loving relationship, I have a wonderful family, I have a great home, I have my health.

In this western world, it’s so hard to forget about the numbers, but I’m committing to letting it go.  I highly recommend tuning into this podcast so you can listen for yourself.  It’s opened my eyes on something I had forgotten, life is just about being happy.

I write personal blog posts every week in hopes to connect with others. If you end up tuning into the podcast or want to talk about this topic more, reach out to me at angeladivinephotography@gmail.com.  Hope to connect with you soon, thanks for reading.