Being productive is not the end goal.

Productivity is a means. The end is… What? To matter. To create. To take joy in the work we do. To help. To share. To offer our gifts. To have fun.

We want to be productive at things that matter to us, not necessarily things that matter to anyone else. We want to do things, but not anything: fulfilling things. Fun things. Things that leave us with satisfaction, not regret.

To be productive in a way that’s satisfying, you have to know what matters. Define what’s important for you. Tune out the noise of what’s trendy or ego-fulfilling or gets attention, and tune into what’s satisfying for your soul.

My definition of success is having inner peace, honest relationships, and the necessary autonomy to spend the majority of my time on soul-satisfying work. That means I better figure out what kind of work is soul-satisfying for me.

There’s a balance to learn here.

Too narrow a focus on reaching some perfect passion or divine calling can limit your openness to experiences and opportunities that will teach you things you need to know. But without any focus at all, without any understanding of what success means to you, it’s easy to chase things that ultimately don’t have any value for you.

Defining success is like making a plan: it will have to grow and change as it encounters reality. But it gives you a starting point, and that’s really all you need.