How do you view success?

"Success is a journey not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome. Not everyone can be Number 1"  - Arthur Robert Ashe Jr

Many of the most successful people of our time choose to view success as being part of their life journey rather than the attainment of a specific goal as many of us are led to behave in early life.

How often are we encouraged to view success as being the achievement of something rather than the enjoyment of the process of learning or implementing the plan that allows you to achieve something you want, and ff success is about enjoying the journey, what happens when you reach your destination?

Do you feel successful and if so why? Is it because of what you have achieved in your life so far or is it because you are happy with the path you are following in life?

Is it a combination of the two things? Or are you currently going through life feeling something of a failure, or slightly disappointed in yourself because of the things that are still just out of your reach?

When I think of this subject, I especially relate to the following  quote from Alexander Graham Bell - 

"The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion... It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider - and progressively better able to grasp any theme or situation - persevering in what he knows to be practical, and concentrating his thought upon it, who is bound to succeed in the greatest degree."

It makes me feel successful no matter how badly the day may be going :)

I try never to be too structured in my planning for where life takes me, although I like to know that we have enough income coming in to take care of the necessities and a few niceties along the way.

For me keeping an open mind and heart so that I am aware of and can jump on the opportunities that come my way is more important than having too much structure. I was never any good at answering the kind of interview question that asked me "and where do you see yourself in 5 years time?" the only thought that brought to mind for me was, "somewhere other than here", which is never really what any prospective employer wants to hear is it?

I don't have anything against planning per se and believe in the importance of maintaining some structure around you, I just can't stand the uncertainty and self doubt that unexpected spanners in the wheels of the best plans throw up, so I tend to have several contingency plans rather than one specific one for the things that I do need to plan and then I go with the flow and enjoy the flexibility those contingency plans create for me.  

My belief, and indeed early experience was that having a fixed and final plan with dates and goals irrevocably set out for me created too much heartache and self doubt if something unexpected happened, like failing an exam or not getting offered the next promotion you have your heart set on. I soon found that I function better and maintain a healthier outlook myself if I think through an opportunity in terms of the pros and cons, and then make several contingency plans for what I can do if...  and then throw myself into the experience, work as hard as I can on making the best of it and all the time use my contingency planning to help me interact more proactively with the situations that arise in that environment whether it's a new job, a house move or even a move to a different country.

This may seem like a bit of a mish mash way to go through life but when I was doing the career thing I actually progressed far quicker than many of my colleagues, simply because I worked so hard at enjoying the stage of the journey I was on, making the best of the work experience and doing that job to the very best of my ability rather than focusing on what I wanted to become next. 

I learned to live in and appreciate the moment and my hard work was usually noted and appreciated along with my enthusiasm. This meant that I was open to the new opportunities as they came along and was able to make strategic decisions more quickly as the  need arose because I wasn't blinkered in my view of what should come next.

I'm really interested to know how other people relate to this topic and hope that you will leave a comment if you've taken the time to read my hub :)

Do you prefer structure and strict goal setting, do you prefer to simply follow wherever your whim and life takes you or are you more of a middle of the road kind of person, semi-structured and not too formal like me?