Values › Success › Achievement
Core value · Success family
Achievement
Reaching the goals you set
Also covers Accomplishment
What does achievement mean as a core value?
Achievement as a core value means setting clear goals and reaching them, getting real satisfaction from finishing things and from seeing proof of what you can do.
A goal crossed off gives you a particular kind of satisfaction. Achievement is about setting a clear target and reaching it: the qualification, the marathon, the product launch, the kitchen finally finished. You like to know what done looks like, and the moment of completion matters. It’s concrete in a way that broader ideas of success aren’t. Each accomplishment is proof of what you’re capable of, and it tends to feed straight into the next goal.
What does achievement look like in practice?
- You break a big ambition into milestones and tick them off as you go.
- You keep a record of what you’ve accomplished and look back at it when you feel stuck.
- You sign up for a race or exam to give yourself a fixed date to work towards.
- You find unfinished projects around the house genuinely irritating.
- You mark the finish of something, even if it’s only by telling someone about it.
When is achievement overplayed?
Too much achievement turns life into a checklist. The satisfaction of reaching a goal lasts a day before the next one appears, and rest feels like falling behind. You may pick goals because they’re easy to measure, and undervalue things that can’t be finished, like friendship or learning for its own sake. The steadier form enjoys the process as well as the result, and knows your worth isn’t a running total. You could try setting one goal this year that can never be ticked off, and see how it sits.
Often confused with
Achievement vs Success
Success is doing well overall by the measures you care about. Achievement is about reaching specific goals, one at a time.
Achievement vs Ambition
Ambition is aiming high and wanting more. Achievement is the satisfaction of getting there, whatever the height of the goal.
Achievement vs Productivity
Productivity is getting a lot done. Achievement is reaching goals that matter to you, which can mean doing less but finishing it.
Questions to sit with
- Which of your recent achievements do you barely remember, and what does that tell you?
- What in your life can never be finished, and how much of your attention does it get?
- What goal are you chasing mainly because it’s easy to measure?
More values in Success
Achievement, ambition and coming out on top.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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