Do you ever stop and think about how you might measure success in your life? Beyond the oh, I am great at my job//I love my job//I make a lot of money from my job// type of traditional measures for success, have you got anything more? I’ve decided I might need to create a list.

Working on my values has helped me to identify patterns, hobbies, and habits of what I do with my time and what I might be doing. Translating these into a list of things I might do helps me consider how I am redefining my understanding of success. In this year (life) of trying to find value in myself outside of my work, what might success now mean to me? (And yes, I am working on how I can move beyond ‘success’ as a metric for my life’s worth too. More on that next week.)

Being present in my relationship with A. Paying attention when we are together, listening better.

Spending time with my family, as often as possible. And sharing our lives through photographs and messages on a daily basis.

Realising my job requires skills that I have. I am not doing everything on the fly, but actually using the various skills I developed as PhD. One of these is writing.

Growing tulips. And edible vegetables.

Making really good cake.

Having friends over for dinner.

Making dinner with veggies that I have grown.

Going for a run. Participating in team sports.

Learning new sports, like SUP.

Weekend yoga classes. Meditation.

Appreciating, loving, and laughing at Pan Cat.

Celebrating small wins along the way.

Becoming aware that I keep moving the goal posts, and acknowledging all that I have already achieved.

Writing – here, in the new book, elsewhere.