Whose Definition of Success Are You Chasing?

Man sitting on top of a mountain with fist in the air to convey success

Here's another question I've been sitting with lately: When you think about career success, whose voice are you hearing?

Is it yours? Or is it your parents'? Your culture's? or even LinkedIn's?

Because here's what the research has been telling us: career success is not a one-size-fits-all. It's deeply subjective, which should by now go without saying.

As a reminder, Seibert, Akkermans, and Liu's (2024) critical review on contemporary career success makes this incredibly clear, there's objective career success (salary, promotions, recognition, titles) often driven externally and subjective career success (satisfaction, fulfilment, joy, meaning) what sits within us.

Surprise, Surprise, the two don't always align.

The frameworks tell us something important.

Social Cognitive Theory reminds us that our career beliefs are shaped by prior observation and modelling that surrounds us. We learn what "success" looks like from the people around us, media often without question.

Career Construction Theory (Savickas, 2013) goes even deeper, emphasising that we actively author our career narratives. But how many of us are the agents for someone else's story and adopting this as our own?

As if that isn’t enough, Super's Life-Span Development Theory? Well, this highlights that career priorities shift across life stages. What felt like success at 25 might now feel hollow at 45. The definition changes.

The real question is: are you allowing and then accepting yours has evolved?

Here's the uncomfortable truth.

Many of us are chasing definitions of success that were handed to us. Cultural expectations. Societal norms. Family scripts. And when we achieve them? We feel... empty. Successful on paper but the reality is we're suffering in silence.

This is the work I do with clients. Helping them untangle whose voice is loudest in their head, and checking if it’s still serving them.

If you're reading this and realising your definition of success doesn't feel like yours, let's talk.

I offer a free introduction career coaching call where we can explore what success actually means to you, not to everyone else.

Book your call here.

References

1. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

2. Savickas, M. L. (2013). Career construction theory and practice. In R. W. Lent & S. D. Brown (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (2nd ed., pp. 147-183). John Wiley & Sons.

3. Seibert, S., Akkermans, J., & Liu, C. H. J. (2024). Understanding contemporary career success: A critical review. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 11, 509-534. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-051543

4. Super, D. E. (1980). A life-span, life-space approach to career development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 16, 282-298.