I DID IT

"I did it Daddy ... I did it!" my three year old daughter screams from the back seat of my Honda Pilot! Samiah's shoe had fallen off and she was trying to get it back on, which in our family is not an easy task at her age while strapped in a car seat with nothing to push her foot against. She was having trouble with it and my oldest daughter, Awan, was insisting on helping when Samiah obviously didn't want it. Her brother was on the other side of her with no clue that she was trying to accomplish anything and kept bumping her. Honestly, it was painful to watch in my rear view mirror. But after fifteen minutes of fending everyone off and struggling with her young uncoordinated body, she did it!

Success! We push, drive and persevere for it. We fend off the obstacles around us to get that job, buy that house, write that blog :) or win that contest! But how do we measure success? How do we know when something we have done is successful or not?

You see there is another side to success ... failure. When we fail to accomplish our goals, we can get angry, sad, confused and depressed. Some of us can shrug it off and not really care. I mean maybe that goal really wasn't all that important. Others of us are just torn apart! How we measure our success determines our reaction, our nerves and our health.

Black and White
One way that we measure success can be very black and white, all or nothing, if you're not first, you're last. Now this mentality can be very effective for motivation, if you're close to the top like second striving for first. What if you're not though? What if you are like the rest of us who aren't the most gifted or experienced? What if your black and white goal is just out of reach, but you gave it all you had, your very best?

Your Very Best
Another way we measure success is by our effort. We gave it our all, worked our hardest but the results just weren't there this time. This can be a good method giving worth to our efforts. The problem is that it is subjective. It's not easy to quantify.

In car sales, I have goals. Certain numbers of cars per month, per year that I strive to accomplish. Always a little more and a little better than the previous year. That sounds pretty black and white. I either hit my numbers or I don't, right? So maybe then if I don't hit my goals I can fall back on the effort logic, right? Lets say I hit or do better than the numbers, but my effort really wasn't all that great. I was pretty lazy but I got lucky! How do I measure it then?

The Target
I like to look at success as a target. The bulls eye of a target is never just a single point only the size of the dart or arrow. It is typically an area of which you have margin, different locations within the bulls eye is still on target. The arrow or dart that hits the edge of the bulls eye still gets the same points as the one that hits dead center. When I set goals, I normally set a range. I should get between 14 and 18 cars for the month or between 156 and 170 cars for the year. I have a target that I should hit and then a goal to reach for. Then having the long term goals helps in case there is a month where I don't reach my target or goal I may make up for it by going over those numbers on another month. Two under goal evens out when I am two over goal the following month, right? And I never forget about effort! I always take my efforts into account. I analyze my creativity, energy and quantity of task completion about 4 times a year.

So I get the opportunity to look back and say "I did it!" without the high blood pressure, anxiety and bad attitude.

Maybe your goals are different than mine. Getting to a certain weight through diet and exercise. Getting good grades and accepted by the right schools. Being noticed and hired by the right company in the right position. Financial goals, life goals, educational goals, we are always trying to measure our success and it can really stress us out! Give your self the chance to achieve, attain and thrive! Be able to look your opponents and obstacles in the face with a smile!

Then CELEBRATE! Because ... YOU DID IT!