A Pinterest favorite, and beautiful artwork found here.

I’ve spent the past five and a half months in a women-only leadership program (more on that soon). The experience has been fantastic and has opened my eyes to growing in the workspace, both personally and professionally, but more than anything I have spent a significant amount of time thinking about my future and success.

Before we go any further, let me preface the rest of this by saying, I certainly haven’t reached a come to Jesus, OK I get it, hallelujah moment about where to go next or what my magic yellow brick road of career path looks like (though man, I wish someone would hand that map over).

It has, however, forced me to think about how I define success.

Earlier this week, I read an article about work-life balance which hit the nail on the head perfectly for where I am currently. What if our happiness isn’t about the hours, the balance, the clients or the people alone, but starts with the root of accomplishment?

So it starts here: how do I define success?

The article sites a study where a group of workers was forced to take a night a week away from their smart phones and email. The discussion following was incredibly interesting:

The people who thought themselves addicted to work were really addicted to success and its signals. So if you want to build a team culture where people are encouraged to unplug and renew, rewire the signaling. Cheer when people come in and say that they unplug; slap their wrist when they don’t. Source

Going back to the mechanics.

What if we moved past the lists, the checkboxes and the powerpoint slides and focused on the relationships, the conversations and where work would lead to in the next five years? After all, today and tomorrow will eventually add up to a career, right?

Rewire the system, take a look at the mechanics and maybe this twenty-something can turn those check-lists into change.