Redefining Success (And Knowing What's 'Enough')
Imagine with me for a moment: A life free (or lessened of): Striving and proving energy; measuring your worth based on optics; aligning your identity with impermanent titles; worrying about things that you won't remember in days or weeks; chasing versions of 'success' that you didn't consciously choose.
That likely sounds crazy to some and utopic to others. To me, it sounds like freedom, peace, and alignment.
Something I've noticed in my growth over the years, as well as see in many of my clients, is that we arrive at a point where the things we used to chase no longer hold the same power or influence.
The 'promises' that came with the chase didn't always deliver. And when we slow down to take stock of what really makes us feel how we want to, we notice how 'simple' it really is. Things like connection/relationships, using and sharing your gifts, creating meaning, and contributing start to emerge as some of the things that create true fulfillment.
So we 'unsubscribe' from that old way of being. Or, we turn the dial down on the level of energy we once gave.
It's not that effort, ambition, or drive go away. They simply don't go unchecked.
What's interesting to note is that sometimes the external circumstances don't shift when we realize this. Our relationship to them and, therefore, our experience of them shifts. It's internal and seemingly small, but has huge positive ramifications.
Here's a question I asked myself (and continue to ask) that shifted things away from the empty promise of 'more is more is more is more': What's enough?
More is typically the default mode: More growth, more income, more visibility, more productivity. It's sneaky, because it sounds like ambition. But unchecked, it keeps us running a race that has no finish line.
When you define your "Enough Number" (financially, emotionally, energetically), it changes the game. It gives you a north star from which to reverse-engineer your choices instead of endlessly moving forward toward something vague and ever-increasing.
For example:
What's the income that fully funds your lifestyle and lets you live out your values?
What's the number of clients, hours, or days a week that feels spacious and sustainable?
What's the level of connection, not audience size, that makes you feel seen?
When you know those numbers, you can stop chasing goals that aren't actually yours. You can build your business, career, and life around what's enough, not what's performative.
A common objection to this idea is the fear of complacency.
But in my experience, it's the opposite. Knowing your enough number brings focus. It sharpens what you say 'yes' to, in what you invest, and how you spend your time.
It stops success from being a moving target and starts making it a grounded experience.
Try this 10-minute recalibration:
Ask yourself: What would 'enough' look like in each area of your life (financially, time, relationships, health, impact)?
Write out real numbers or descriptions. Be specific.
Then ask: If that were true right now, of what could I let go? What would I do differently?
Use it as your filter. Let 'enough' become the lens through which you make decisions this season.
Redefining success isn't about shrinking your goals. It's about aligning them.
When you know what's 'enough' you can build backward to design a life, business, and network that feel abundant because they fit you, not because they impress anyone else. (And, you can change your mind… you're not beholden to anything.)