Last week I was on a call with a new client, Imogen, who felt she was stuck in a job she hated. This was a senior role in the media industry, but it left her feeling deflated, burnout and under-appreciated. When we explored why she stayed in this role and had done so for the last decade she said:

Imogen felt good when she told other people what she did for a living; ultimately, without knowing it, she valued their opinions more than her own. She continued to work in a role that made her unhappy because she could impress other people.

This was something that hadn’t really occurred to Imogen before and this realisation became the catalyst for her looking now at changing her job. She realised it was going to feel even better to talk to others about her job with a sense of excitement and passion, and it would feel much more enjoyable for her daily.

I speak to so many women like Imogen each week, who are confused as to why they have made a certain choice or are stuck in a career that they don’t enjoy anymore. This is why I always ask clients to think about their success criteria – and as always, I won’t ask you to do anything I won’t be willing to do myself. So here is my success criteria for CareerTree Coaching:

💙 To work with interesting and motivated clients to whom I feel I can make a difference

💙 To have harmony between my work and life, taking time out to be there for my family and to energise my health and wellbeing

💙 To stretch myself by saying yes to things that scare me, and to take opportunities to grow as a coach and a business owner

💙 To earn enough to be a moderate ‘planet-friendly’ consumer

If you’re not too sure how to figure out your success criteria, try asking yourself these questions: 

💙 What is my legacy or life purpose going to be? How will I make a difference, and is it important that I do?

💙 What do I want to achieve in my life? What are the goals that are landmarks for me, that will fulfill me?

💙 What opportunities would I like to have?

💙 What would I like to learn? What academic achievements are important to me?

💙 What skills do I want to acquire?

💙 What freedom and challenges do I crave in my life? How can they be financed?

💙 How is money important to me?

💙 Who are the people that are important for me to make a difference or to be a role model for?

💙 What part of my life do I need to create harmony within?

💙 What do I enjoy doing that I want to do more of?

For me having my success criteria as my guiding principles makes decisions and hard times in my business so much easier and provides me with an extra level of reassurance and focus.

Mae West said, “You only have one life but live it right, and once is enough.” Think about what ‘living it right’ means for you but don’t wait too long before you make the important changes that will increase your sense of fulfillment and career happiness.

Let me know what your version of success is for you by getting in touch.