Just Enough
Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson of Harvard Business School
Success comprises
· A set of "desired ends": “happiness (feelings of pleasure or contentment in and about your life),
· Achievement (accomplishments that compare favorably against similar goals others have strived for),
· Significance (a success comprises a set of "desired ends": “happiness (feelings of pleasure or contentment in and about your life), achievement (accomplishments that compare favorably against similar goals others have strived for), significance (a positive impact on people you care about), and legacy (establishing your values or accomplishments in ways that help others find future success) positive impact on people you care about), and
· Legacy (establishing your values or accomplishments in ways that help others find future success)
According to Nash and Stevenson's subjects, not all ends are achieved simultaneously even by those who have managed to achieve this kind of balance in their lives. In fact, it requires the capacity to concentrate on one or more dimensions of success up to the point of "just enough," then shift the emphasis to one or more other dimensions at various points in a lifetime. This kind of success is not achieved through the single-minded pursuit of any one of these things as if the goal were "never enough." In other words, the endless pursuit of any one of these goals may actually diminish one's success, as self-assessed at the end of long career.
Success comprises
· A set of "desired ends": “happiness (feelings of pleasure or contentment in and about your life),
· Achievement (accomplishments that compare favorably against similar goals others have strived for),
· Significance (a success comprises a set of "desired ends": “happiness (feelings of pleasure or contentment in and about your life), achievement (accomplishments that compare favorably against similar goals others have strived for), significance (a positive impact on people you care about), and legacy (establishing your values or accomplishments in ways that help others find future success) positive impact on people you care about), and
· Legacy (establishing your values or accomplishments in ways that help others find future success)
According to Nash and Stevenson's subjects, not all ends are achieved simultaneously even by those who have managed to achieve this kind of balance in their lives. In fact, it requires the capacity to concentrate on one or more dimensions of success up to the point of "just enough," then shift the emphasis to one or more other dimensions at various points in a lifetime. This kind of success is not achieved through the single-minded pursuit of any one of these things as if the goal were "never enough." In other words, the endless pursuit of any one of these goals may actually diminish one's success, as self-assessed at the end of long career.
