Redefining Success Amid Limitation

Like so many clients, colleagues, and friends, I’ve spent the last two years balancing the wellbeing of my family with the wellbeing of my career, while trying to remain mentally, physically, and financially upright amid so much uncertainty. 

Even as we sometimes turn inwards to cope with the stress of this pandemic, I – and many like me – continue to crave action, advancement, and achievement. 

In the face of so many rapidly-changing limitations, we have been forced to redefine individual measures of success.

I launched the flagship Kraftwürk clinic on the cusp of the pandemic. What was intended to be a momentous event in my professional journey was, in fact, a far quieter affair than I had hoped. 

I had to make peace with a low-key launch and I did. Indeed, it was a lesson in being humble, in being grateful for what I have rather than regretting what was withheld.

As the months passed, I sought out new ways to define what success could look like during a pandemic. I welcomed alternative opportunities to advance myself and give back to my professional community. 

I’ve devoted much of my practice to training up-and-coming colleagues. Virtually or in-person, this effort has seen me sharing skills and techniques with professionals in Canada and abroad. 

I’ve been invited to speak at virtual and in-person conferences. I seized the opportunities. As much as I am grateful for the opportunity to share my knowledge, I regard the opportunities to learn as huge successes. Just as important – my network of friends and colleagues has grown exponentially. 

Looking back on the early years of Kraftwürk, I will recall it as a time of triumph. 

The triumph of opening a clinic in the face of a global event that has put so many monumental challenges in the way of so many of us. 

The triumph of personal growth during which I learned to redefine success not simply as when one celebrates themselves, but as an opportunity to give back to individuals and community.  

The triumph of getting to know myself better, of prioritizing my family, of learning to not get caught up in the impulse to experiencing success as a big event but a series of incremental achievements and investments in others.

No matter what 2022 holds – and I’m optimistic above all else – I’m glad to have learned to redefine success and I look forward to new opportunities to reflect, give back, and connect.

- Em