Help Them Define Success
Take a minute and think of someone you know who you would consider successful. No, really! Take a minute and think of someone.
Who did you think of? Are there many, or just a few? I bet you couldn’t think of many, perhaps not even one.
Success isn’t scarce, but it is rare. By this, I mean that one person’s success doesn’t take away from another’s; there’s enough success to go around. Yet, so few people achieve it. Why is that? It could largely be because we don’t have a clear understanding of what success truly is! As homeschooling parents, it’s essential to help our children understand and define success.
One of my favourite definitions comes from John C. Maxwell in his book Be All You Can Be: “Success is becoming all that God intended you to be.” This is such an obvious yet powerful definition. God created us with unique gifts, abilities, and a purpose, so becoming what He intended us to be is the ultimate success.
What’s more, this definition suggests that success is our duty. It’s a moral responsibility because we owe it to our Creator to become all that He intended us to be. Many people shy away from pursuing success because they see it as too ambitious or vain. But that’s often because they misunderstand what success truly entails.
A widely accepted definition of success found in many books is:
“Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal.”
This definition highlights three key features of success:
1. Ideals
It is essential that children understand success in relation to reaching desired outcomes or states. For example in the previous definition, that ideal is to become all that God intended you to be! But if you do not know what that is, or what to aim for, how would you be able to see yourself as successful. Having a clear vision and goals are essential to pursue success because it directs you towards what you are aiming for!
We could call these ideals, life goals: Those things that we would want to achieve with our limited time in this life. In the coming articles we will spend a significant amount of time emphasising the importance of goals and giving helpful instructions about how to set and achieve life goals.
2. Ideals Must Be Worthy
The ideals you pursue are what you’ll live for, so they should be worth dying for. You’re going to spend your time, energy, and relationships pursuing these ideals, so they must be worth the sacrifice. Thinking of success as realising worthy ideals helps eliminate shallow pursuits like money and fame and encourages you to think more about the legacy and impact you want to leave behind.
3. Success Is Progressively Realised
According to this definition, you can be successful every day if you are closer to your worthy ideal than you were yesterday. Success is not a single event but a series of small successes that add up over time. If you are daily moving closer to your worthy ideal—progressively realizing it—you are achieving small successes every day that accumulate into a larger success.
The Role of Homeschooling in Teaching Success
Traditional schools often define success as academic achievement, sporting victories, or cultural accomplishments. A school is deemed successful if it has a 100% pass rate or a high percentage of students earning bachelor’s degrees. But just because someone becomes a doctor or engineer doesn’t necessarily mean they are successful in life. Was the person you thought of as successful because of their career?
It is therefore another benefit to home schooling families that we can nourish a healthy, dynamic and proper definition of success to our children. But to do so, we must first have a clear and proper definition of success that we want to embody in our own lives and impart to our children. But that means that as a homeschooling parent, you cannot teach your children to do what you do not know and do yourself. How do you define success? Are you successful? Have you defined success for yourself as a homeschooling parent?
Conclusion
Success, in its truest form, is not about accolades, wealth, or social status. It’s about progressively realising a worthy ideal and becoming all that you were created to be. As homeschooling parents, you have the unique opportunity to guide your children in defining and pursuing a success that is both meaningful and fulfilling. By embracing this journey yourself, you set the stage for your children to do the same, equipping them with the mindset and values that will lead to true success in life.
