I know I am being successful by ________________.

Fill in the blank:  How do you know you’re being successful?

….I got dressed today ….one successful morning accomplished! ~ Melissa Q.

Ugh – I know what I need to do, but have been putting it off. Sometimes by choice and other times by capability. ~ Laurie L.

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”— Maya Angelou

“Putting love out into a world that seems starved of love at times. For me, in my corner of the world, this looks like: (a) being the best mom I can be. Litmus test on this is that my daughter knows, without question, that she is loved no matter what. (b) being a good wife, loving and supporting my husband, partnering with him in how our life works. This looks different ALL of the time. (c) doing my best work, at work. There’s lots more, but that’s a good piece.” ~ Valerie O.

“By how much I am enjoying my creativity, how much I’m being nurtured by my relationship with God, and how nice of a person I’m being.” ~ Thomas Leonard, the father of life coaching

“Being happy.” ~ Allan F.

“Being the best me possible!!” ~ Mary D.

“Success [could be] defined as the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals.”— Deepak Chopra

“I too have days when simply managing to get dressed counts as a victory. But I think that you’re interested in success in a broader sense.”

I also don’t think you’re asking how we define success (good job; supportive spouse, parent, or whatever; spirituality or religious devotion; etc.). That’s an interesting question too, of course, and gets me wondering how many of my definitions come from external sources and how many I’ve really developed for myself. But I can dig in to that another time…

For me, knowing that I’m successful is tricky. I come from a family tradition of alcoholism, codependency, so I’m always concerned that I might be in denial about something important or that I’m substituting real happiness or success for a quick, but ultimately shallow quick fix.

The one thing I’ve found that helps me determine how I’m really doing is to notice the quality of the people I hang out with. Are they kind? Are they taking care of themselves? Are they doing things they’re proud of? If yes, then hell, they must be hanging out with me for some reason. I’ve managed to attract these people to me, so I’m probably on the right track.

I’m surprised to realize how external this is for me. I don’t really trust my own judgment entirely. I rely on carefully chosen friends to provide me with a mirror. ~ Teresa A.

“To live the lives we truly want and deserve, and not just the lives we settle for” and beyond the standard measures of money and power: “well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving.” ~ Arianna Huffington, Founder, Huffington Post

“Drafting interactive fill-in-the-blank Facebook posts” ~ Colt D.

How about you?  How to you know you’re being successful!?