What is success?

By Jane Gunn

I was asked recently how many mediations I had done in a specific sector and how many were successful.

This raises the question “What is success?”

The simple answer to this must always be – it depends.

How you measure success depends on the circumstances including the needs, interests, hopes and fears of each of the people involved.

Then perhaps you need a timeline to decide whether any outcome continued to have a positive impact over time – whether that was an amount of money received in settlement or an agreed set of actions.

In a mediation, success is also measured by the degree to which the parties made their own decision, having appreciated the true reality of their situation and having considered all the options available to them.

Success is also the opportunity to return to peace of mind and an ability to focus on those things that matter most in life.

As attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson success is:

To laugh often and love much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the approval of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give of one’s self;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived…
This is to have succeeded.