FIf you ask very young people about their idea of a successful existence, the answers have a lot to do with sweets, ice skating and playing until you drop. Adolescents express an even simpler formula: make a lot of money doing something they enjoy. As people get older, it becomes more nuanced and complicated when people express what concrete professional success means to them. A subjective selection of answers: being able to operate for the first time, a business trip to Milan, an invitation from the industry association, passing the tax advisor exam, managing a department, doing well in the part-time job and being with the children in the afternoon, a raise.
So if you ask your friends what others mean by success, you will immediately see that there is no such thing as cold-blooded information here. Just two decades ago the answers would have been more compliant. But the pandemic and new work options have thoroughly shaken up the definitions of professional success. The classic keywords – advancement and a high salary – no longer come to many people’s lips so quickly. Good luck and success, that's the standard greeting card text that middle-aged or older people received in a casual, fluffy way. Younger people probably not. Is that even a desirable size to be successful? And is that a prerequisite for happiness?
We live in a world of rapid change. Disasters, as well as ingenuity in how to escape them, are changing ideas about what success actually is. One example is the home office, which was created in the middle of and because of the corona pandemic. Working models that were previously taboo and utopian are now conceivable. Commuting to your employer just twice a month, living in the region of your choice and finally moving in with your partner – previously unthinkable, suddenly possible. A working model like this doesn't catapult you into the management level, but it does promote personal happiness. It's also a success to maintain a stable partnership! Part-time leadership was revolutionary just a few years ago. It's still exotic, but it adorns employers who position themselves in a modern way.
“I always need goals, no matter how old I am”
So what is success? A word like a chameleon. Is this career advancement? Or “just” personal fulfillment? Maybe even something like rest and as little effort as possible? Or even: do good for others? The image of the career ladder ending in the executive suite after a lot of hard work seems old-fashioned. A 32-year-old colleague shudders when the word career is mentioned and says: “That really repulses people of my generation.” Instead, many people find a more relaxed attitude more attractive, something like this: The path may not be the only one, but it is at least it a target.
#Career #Goals #Success #Story
