There are many definitions of success. Most of these definitions relate to what you achieve or chase in life. Your limitations can also define success—not only whether you exceed them, but if you meet them. If you know your limitations, and can hit them, you have done your best. Anytime you can do your best, that’s a success. Everything else you get in addition is just gravy. If you don’t recognize your limitations, you won’t know you’re a success and will chase ideals or someone else’s success.

What happens if you need an idea but can’t seem to come up with one? More importantly, have you ever wondered what such a block is and how to work through it? Blocks, despite the name, don’t block creativity or ideas. They are a sign that you have questions and don’t know the answer, or more likely, you don’t even know the question to ask. Sometimes overthinking or trying to force an answer cause a block.

That should be a hint about how to deal with blocks.

Take a step back, figure out what you are trying to accomplish. Be as specific as possible—ask a specific small-grained question. You aren’t trying to hit the goal by breaking through the block. You’re trying to just move forward to the next problem.

If you try to force your way through a block by fighting for an idea that never seems to come, you aren’t seeing the problem correctly, and no amount of fighting will create a solution. The answer to this type of block is to take a step back. Literally, take a break. Take the day away from the problem. As the saying goes, sleep on it. This frees you from hitting your head against the proverbial wall. A free mind is a creative mind.

Blocks will always occur. The secret isn’t to bully your way through them, but to embrace them and work around them.

Many people track habits on a habit tracker. Few, if any, track their failures and successes. Tracking habits not only improves your ability to continue your habit but also acts as motivation and a way to detect patterns in your behavior. If you always skip working out on Tuesdays, there’s a reason. But if you don’t track your habits, seeing that you skip Tuesdays may be problematic.

Likewise, tracking your failures, and I don’t mean mistakes, can be a way to detect recurring issues and strengths. You can either use a simple check-off tracker and organize it by task and day, or better still, on one line write what failed, why, and how to fix the failure in the future. Track each success with what worked and why. Mark each success green and each failure red.

Over time, you’ll discover patterns of failure that you can then fix or avoid. You’ll also find patterns of success you can then leverage. Oh, and just because you’ve failed at something doesn’t make you a failure. You are not the thing.

Have one meaningful life goal per day. Also, make sure the goal aligns with your personal values and achievable during the day. Without goals, especially life goals, you are going through the motions in life. Having a life goal, as opposed to a work goal, reminds you that life is more than just work. Too many people prioritize work over life because they believe their work is their life. The way to live is to prioritize life over work.

Have one meaningful life goal per day. Make it small. Make it achievable. Make it important to you. You and your personal goals are important.

The goals you’ve achieved are the signposts of your life. The goals you haven’t achieved are the roadside litter. And there are more bits of litter than signposts. The goals most people set for themselves are those of other people: lose weight, learn a foreign language, save for the future, etc. Those are fine, but these goals point you to a crossroads full of other people just like you.

The most valuable goals are the ones that are unique to you and take you off the well-trod path. These goals define who you are, not who you are like. These are, also, the scariest goals to set and work toward, because they stretch your comfort zone. Growth is always painful.

Make your goals your own. Make your goals challenge you. Don’t make your goals restrictive. Don’t set deadlines or use other parameters that limit your chance for progress and success.

And remember, as long as you’re moving toward your goals, you haven’t gotten lost.

#life #success