Lesson One: Defining Success
What is success? Merriam-Webster dictionary's first definition describes success as achieving wealth, respect, or fame; the dictionary's second articulates it is the desired or correct outcome of an attempt. Talking about success can be problematic when the word itself connotes dual, and potentially conflicting, meanings.
In this Lesson we ask, what do we mean when we talk about success? To what extent are personal goals shaped by external factors and pressures? How can we develop definitions of success that reflect our core desires, values, and principles? How do competing motivations, for factors including status and wealth, and also for achieving the goal itself, impact our performance?
This Lesson draws on research literature on Internal Motivation (often called "intrinsic motives") and Success as well as the Jewish mystical practice of hishtatvut equanimity, a state in which one is not dependent on external influence or validation but in which one lives from within.
