top of page

Establishing Success Criteria For YOUR Life To Live It Meaningfully

  • Nov 5, 2021
  • 3 min read

Written by: Justine Hebert Dinesen, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

If you imagine yourself lying on your deathbed, what would you like to have achieved in your lifetime?


My experience is that we often are too busy with life to take the time to reflect on what’s really important for us and to then prioritize accordingly. We go with the flow of our lives without actively driving ourselves towards the life we yearn for.

By not taking an active role in defining what is important for us, we often follow the definition of success defined by the society we live in. If you have a great career, a perfect family, a good relationship with your partner, and a collection of wonderful experiences, then you are a success.


However, this standard approach to success is quite broad and can seem unrealistic for most of us who juggle with small kids and a demanding job.


So, we need to dig into what is important for us and start prioritizing accordingly.


We are luckily all different as individuals so it's completely normal that we prioritize our personal lives differently.


So what is YOUR success criteria for life and how would you like to prioritize to ensure you live a meaningful life?


Here are a few tips to find out what your success criteria are:


1. Try to take a step back and ask yourself:

  • Why did I choose to settle down where I live now? What was appealing to me?

  • Why did I choose this partner for my life? What did I particularly like about him/her?

  • Why did I choose to work where I work now? What was appealing to me?

2. What am I particularly happy about in my life and why?

3. What do I feel I am missing in my life?

4. What would I do if I didn’t have to pay attention to money, time or family?

5. Now take a look at everything you have written down. What are your success criteria for your life?

That is to say, what are the 5 most important things you would like to have achieved when you are old?

6. Now try to look at your life and see how you could do things differently to make sure you focus your efforts into the things that really matter to you.

  • What would you like to change in your life?

  • How would you like to prioritise your time?

I hope this exercise helps you prioritize your time efficiently so you can focus on the areas that matter and live a more meaningful life.


Follow Justine on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website.


Justine Hebert Dinesen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

Justine Hebert Dinesen is a certified and experienced Life and Stress Coach, speaker, and wellbeing consultant. Besides conducting one-on-one coaching online and in-person in Copenhagen, over the past several years, she has held numerous workshops and courses both inside and outside of Denmark. Justine herself experienced an extreme period of stress while working as a Bid Manager for a large renewable energy company, a personal experience that ultimately led Justine down a new and highly rewarding career path, informing and helping others to prevent or alleviate stress and its symptoms and consequences in their lives. Thanks to her English, French, and Danish fluency, she can reach a wide audience across borders, helping them attain goals, shift into new career paths, navigate difficult decisions, improve their self-esteem, and generally renew their spark for life.

 
 

This article is published in collaboration with Brainz Magazine’s network of global experts, carefully selected to share real, valuable insights.

Article Image

Why High Performers Struggle With Confidence

Confidence is often described as something you either have or you do not. We speak about naturally confident leaders, athletes who play with swagger, or professionals who appear steady in high-stakes...

Article Image

5 Stages of Identity Anchoring and Why Top Women Leaders Defend Their True Selves

Everyone is talking about imposter syndrome. I want to talk about the opposite. The feeling of not knowing if you're good enough. I became a CEO in my 20s. I didn't doubt my ability. What I doubted, quietly...

Article Image

AI is Killing Your Company Culture

Generative AI, often called GenAI, should definitely be used to improve your workforce by enhancing skills and streamlining knowledge. It concatenates vast quantities of data faster than any human and...

Article Image

What Do Women Need to Thrive in High-Performance Environments?

Having worked across multiple high-performance systems over the past two decades, supporting everyone from elite athletes to senior leaders, I am often asked whether women have different needs in these...

Article Image

Hustling vs Building – Why Most Entrepreneurs Stay in Survival Mode

Entrepreneurship has been glamorized into a highlight reel of early mornings, late nights, and celebrated grind culture. Social media praises the hustle. Culture rewards being busy. But behind that narrative...

Article Image

Why Self-Sabotage Is Not Your Enemy and 5 Ways to Finally Work With It

What if self-sabotage isn't a flaw? What if it's actually a protection system, one that your body built years ago to keep you safe, and one that's still running even though the danger is long gone? Most...

I Don’t Chase Symptoms, I Change States

If Your Product Needs Constant Explanations, It’s Not Ready

How Women Lead Without Shrinking to Fit for International Women’s Day

How Physical, Emotional, and Cognitive Environments Shape Behaviour, Learning, and Leadership

What if 5 Minutes of Daily Exercise Could Bring You Longevity?

Why Waiting for a Second Chance Holds You Back from Building a Fulfilling Life

5 Hidden Costs of Waiting to Be Chosen

Why Great Leaders Don’t Say No, They Influence Decisions Instead

How to Change the Way Employees Feel About Their Health Plan

bottom of page