TSL #005: How To Reexamine Your Relationship With Achievement

Read time: 2 minutes 40 seconds

Are you used to thinking of yourself as a high-achieving professional? Are you also questioning this label for yourself right now? But does the idea of downshifting your ambitions feel a bit uncomfortable?

Right now, I have ~15 coaching clients who are working toward scaling back their professional ambitions (at least for now). This isn't a surprise—the stress of the pandemic, social unrest, and the professional adjustments we've all had to make lend themselves to a prolonged malaise.

The success narrative of corporate life—work hard > get promoted > gain responsibility > earn more stripes > climb the ladder—just doesn't carry the same appeal for so many of us.

But extricating ourselves from this singular pathway—choosing a less frenetic pace, taking on fewer responsibilities, establishing more boundaries, committing fewer hours—can seem professionally reckless. Fears of irrelevance, lack of growth, self-betrayal, and layoffs abound.

These are reasonable concerns (especially for women who may have taken time off to raise children and found a surprising amount of difficulty in re-entering the workforce). But downshifting your ambitions needn't mean throwing away all you've worked so hard to build. It may well mean you're finally ready to prioritize yourself and embrace a better, more sustainable regenerative path forward.

WHAT TO DO

If you're recognizing a need to downshift your own professional outputs, one of the best next steps to take is to reexamine your relationship with achievement.

Success often feels like a volume game: More is better. More time making connections. More time driving projects. More time submitting proposals. More time in team meetings. More grind overall.

When your track record of accomplishment defines you and reaching the next rung on whatever ladder you're climbing consumes you, crowding out important relationships and the enjoyment of work and life, your relationship to achievement has become unhealthy.

You might recognize you don't need more. You need different.

Here are a few questions to get you started on redefining your relationship with achievement:

To what extent do I neglect key relationships (spouse, kids, friends) in the pursuit of success?
How have I sacrificed my health (rest, diet, mental well-being) to achieve success?
When is the last time I felt a sense of playfulness about my work, regardless of results, just for the sheer joy of doing it?
How have I defined “enough” achievement?

If deep, lasting satisfaction is something you long for, and the hedonic treadmill is one you're ready to get off, then it's time to confront your unhealthy relationship with achievement.