How to Measure Personal Success with Satisfaction

Selecting a measuring stick by which to assess success is a challenging endeavor. The media certainly offers suggestions as do colleagues, family members and friends. However, the most important way to gauge your success or failure, whether in relationships, jobs or otherwise, is to objectively look at your satisfaction level. Actions such as Internet surfing for alternative job options during work hours or mulling over how to best avoid dinner with your significant other should signal a state of dissatisfaction with your current circumstance. Using those observations to accurately assess your satisfaction and ultimately success level will help you identify areas in your life that need improvement.

Instructions

• 1

  Write down how many times a week you actively search for alternative job options. Do you simply browse a few websites once or twice a week, or is your search a daily occurrence? Does boredom prompt you to engage in this searching, or do you earnestly seek to switch careers? On the other hand, write down how many times a week you receive compliments or praise at work. Does your boss repeatedly tell you what an asset you are to the team? Do you look forward to interacting with your coworkers on a daily basis? Pay attention to how this translates to feelings of success and achievement in your life.

• 2

  Cancel a dinner, lunch or other social engagement if you find yourself spending large amounts of time developing options for avoiding the event. Note who you are trying to avoid as well as what type of event you dislike. Explore what causes you to feel dissatisfied with that type of activity. Alternatively, make a special effort to increase the frequency of interacting with individuals and attending events that bring you joy and satisfaction. Monitor how this affects your attitude toward your level of success and achievement.

• 3

  Talk to yourself while you look in the mirror. Do not worry about appearing odd. No one else will see you. While staring yourself in the eye, ask yourself, "Am I satisfied with my life today?" Note your facial expression and any slight movements. It is very difficult to avoid your true feelings while doing this. You will feel a desire to be completely open and honest with yourself at this time. Consider your job as in Step 1 and relationships as in Step 2 as well as all other areas of your life such as finances, leisure time and spirituality.

• 4

  Write down the areas you considered in Step 3 on a sheet of paper along with a number from one to five next to each. Make one represent completely dissatisfied and five represent completely satisfied. Add up your numbers, divide by the total number of items multiplied by five, and multiply by 100 to yield a percent. For example, if you have five categories and you assigned the numbers two, one, three, four and five to them, divide your summed category numbers, or 15, by 25 and multiply by 100. You would get 60 percent. Consider yourself 60 percent satisfied and thus 60 percent successful.