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Original question: How do you define success?
My thoughts redirect the traditional answers, looking for engagement.
Articles read recently:
Work & life balance - https://hbr.org/2014/03/manage-your-work-manage-your-life
The 4 P's - http://fieldgradeleader.themilitaryleader.com/success-trimble/
I have been in the Army over 10 years, my wife about the same. This is more in relation to the first article.
Success in its truest sense is a quantitative measurement of life lived. I could break it down into professional and personal realms but it wouldn't serve me well as my defining principle remains the same. For a Christian success is to "decrease, that he may increase," he being Christ Jesus. My religious views profoundly establish my identity and worldview and thus define for me what it means to "achieve" something. Therefore, all my achievements are an act of service to the God I worship.
Moving from here, I could expound on professional and personal domains, however I do not like to divorce these areas of life. I believe this causes many problems, one of which being a compartmentalized ethical behavior as discussed by Dr. Nathan Cartagena, a contributor to Army ethical doctrine and reform. Rather, I have attempted to combine these realms of life under my sense of duty. I have both a duty to my job and to my family and both compete for my time. This is where the intuitive concepts of work-life balance apply to me and thus where I apply my definition of success. If I am serving others to the best of my ability within the religious virtues taught me by the leaders in my faith, then I am successful. This downplays performance and traditional concepts of productivity and uplifts things like a sacrificial work ethic (the diminishing of pride), righteous suffering (a sort of humble generosity), and spirituality (faith, hope, and love). From here I make decisions and identify balance, whether it be to spend time with my kids or answer a dozen emails.
Reading through the article on work-life balance seemed tedious. When I remain focused on Jesus and his actions on the cross, these sort of things usually fall into place naturally. Meaning while they serve immense practical importance, my faith equips me to navigate through them because it's spiritual model of success guides me to what is important in any given moment. More could be said of this and I'm sure I have much to learn.
This is a fairly radical perspective. It definitely goes beneath the practical lessons of balancing your career and home life and working you way up in the military.
My thoughts redirect the traditional answers, looking for engagement.
Articles read recently:
Work & life balance - https://hbr.org/2014/03/manage-your-work-manage-your-life
The 4 P's - http://fieldgradeleader.themilitaryleader.com/success-trimble/
I have been in the Army over 10 years, my wife about the same. This is more in relation to the first article.
Success in its truest sense is a quantitative measurement of life lived. I could break it down into professional and personal realms but it wouldn't serve me well as my defining principle remains the same. For a Christian success is to "decrease, that he may increase," he being Christ Jesus. My religious views profoundly establish my identity and worldview and thus define for me what it means to "achieve" something. Therefore, all my achievements are an act of service to the God I worship.
Moving from here, I could expound on professional and personal domains, however I do not like to divorce these areas of life. I believe this causes many problems, one of which being a compartmentalized ethical behavior as discussed by Dr. Nathan Cartagena, a contributor to Army ethical doctrine and reform. Rather, I have attempted to combine these realms of life under my sense of duty. I have both a duty to my job and to my family and both compete for my time. This is where the intuitive concepts of work-life balance apply to me and thus where I apply my definition of success. If I am serving others to the best of my ability within the religious virtues taught me by the leaders in my faith, then I am successful. This downplays performance and traditional concepts of productivity and uplifts things like a sacrificial work ethic (the diminishing of pride), righteous suffering (a sort of humble generosity), and spirituality (faith, hope, and love). From here I make decisions and identify balance, whether it be to spend time with my kids or answer a dozen emails.
Reading through the article on work-life balance seemed tedious. When I remain focused on Jesus and his actions on the cross, these sort of things usually fall into place naturally. Meaning while they serve immense practical importance, my faith equips me to navigate through them because it's spiritual model of success guides me to what is important in any given moment. More could be said of this and I'm sure I have much to learn.
This is a fairly radical perspective. It definitely goes beneath the practical lessons of balancing your career and home life and working you way up in the military.
Manage Your Work, Manage Your Life
Posted from hbr.org
Success
Leadership
Religion
Performance
Christianity
Edited 4 y ago
Posted 4 y ago
Responses: 4
I think everyone will have a different definition/perspective on success. My perspective is both military and civilian in that: If I mentor my Soldiers to the point that they progress beyond me, then I have succeeded. If I have provided for my family and they are happy, then I have succeeded.
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It's very simple. Believe whatever you want to believe, and if you are doing it right, your soldiers won't have a clue what your religious beliefs are. It means that you treat a Christian of your denomination the same as any other denomination, the same as a Muslim, Buddhist, Temple of Satan, Atheist, etc. It means you focus on doing your job and you don't witness to others. You're an officer now, you have to focus on the mission, and you have to follow that with focusing on your men. It means that they eat before you do, and the food runs out, you're the one that goes hungry. Their quarters are more important than yours, as is their sleep. And above all, treat every one of them as if they were family, because now they are. Good luck.
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