Redefining Success: What Matters Most? | Giovana Vega | TEDxUniversiteitVanAmsterdam
Giovanna Vega argues that finding a truly happy life requires flexibility in defining success by integrating creativity with logical thinking, using the decline of natural creativity and the limitations of external metrics as evidence. She concludes that redefining success by personal fulfillment, rather than traditional achievements, leads to abundance and meaningful change.
## Speakers & Context
- Giovanna Vega:
- Originally from Peru.
- Has called the Netherlands home since 1997.
- Worked for over ten years in the financial sector of a trading company.
- Delivered a talk focused on mixing creativity with logical thinking for purpose and happiness.
- Has since found joy by empowering others and sharing expertise in financial investments.
## Theses & Positions
- Flexibility about the meaning of success is key to a truly happy life.
- Achieving a fulfilling life depends on pursuing happiness and purpose, rather than achieving perfect lives or high monetary success.
- Creativity, emotional awareness, and self-awareness are necessary components for complete personal growth.
- Success metrics should be redefined to measure personal growth, relationship quality, and daily joy, rather than external indicators like titles or income.
- True abundance requires aligning abilities (logic) with beliefs (self-awareness regarding emotions).
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Creativity:**
- Not just art or design.
- Encompasses the ability to discover new and original ideas, connections, and solutions to problems.
- In business, it is the ability to be and think differently and approach challenges from fresh perspectives.
- **Personal Growth:**
- More than just going beyond goals.
- A complete approach including creativity, emotional, and self-awareness.
- **Emotional Awareness:**
- Understanding and managing emotions to improve communications, decision making, and relationships.
- **Self-awareness:**
- Knowing one's strength, weaknesses, values, and motivations; a key element in personal growth.
- **Logic vs. Creativity:**
- Conceptualized as two key players in the brain that must work together, rather than being used in isolation.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **The Decline of Creativity:**
- Creativity naturally declines with age; at age five, 98% of children taking a specific test were creative, but this dropped to only 2% in adults tested by George Lunt in 1968.
- This loss is often accelerated by traditional educational systems and professional routines.
- **Achieving Fulfillment:**
- Requires moving beyond just fulfilling duties and meeting deadlines by rekindling the "spark of [her] creative side."
- **Blending logic with creativity:** Applying this blend allowed the speaker to find a new way to approach life, focused on making an impact rather than just success.
- **Creating Personal Benchmarks:**
- Shifting focus from what looks good on paper to what feels good in the soul by asking, *"What do you value most?"* (e.g., time, freedom, connections, peace of mind).
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Pre-Talk Reflection:** Speaker realized she traded her passion and creativity for duties and deadlines, feeling something important—the spark—was missing.
- **Professional History:** Worked in the financial sector of a trading company for over ten years.
- **Change:** Left full-time job because it was not providing the needed fulfillment.
- **Current Direction:** Focused on empowering others and sharing expertise in financial investments.
## Named Entities
- **Psychology Today:** Source cited for the definition of creativity.
- **George Lunt:** Created the creativity test used in 1968.
- **NASA’s engineers:** Group for whom George Lunt administered the creativity test.
## Numbers & Data
- At age five, **98%** of children taking the creativity test were deemed creative.
- For adults in the 1968 test, only **2%** retained their creativity.
- Speaker's time in the Netherlands: **since 1997**.
## Examples & Cases
- **The Corporate Routine:** Meeting deadlines and achieving success "on paper" while experiencing creative drain.
- **Financial Wellness Example:** A person can be skilled at money management (logic) but struggle to find abundance if there is a belief (self-awareness) that financial success beyond a certain point is unnecessary.
- **The Value Choice:** An example of having a high-powered job, big house, and successful business, but still not feeling successful if time with loved ones is missed.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Creativity Test:** Developed by George Lunt for NASA's engineers (used in 1968).
## References Cited
- *Psychology Today* (for defining creativity).
- Doctor George Lunt (for the 1968 NASA creativity test).
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- Concerns that traditional educational systems diminish natural creativity.
- The speaker acknowledges the allure of external success markers (titles, income, opinion of others).
## Methodology
- Self-reflection to identify the missing "spark" after professional work.
- Analyzing the composition of human happiness through the framework of creativity, emotional awareness, and self-awareness.
- Applying the concept of personal benchmarking to re-evaluate success criteria.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- **Immediate Actions:**
- Start today.
- Find a creative activity that really excites you and make time for it.
- Use logic and creative thinking in daily work.
- **Overarching Goal:** Redefine what success means to the individual, moving away from society's prescribed box.
## Implications & Consequences
- Shifting focus from what *looks* successful to what *feels* fulfilling will change personal paths and subsequently, the world around the individual.
- Misalignment between skills and beliefs prevents true abundance in life.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"If I told you that being flexible about the meaning of success is one of the keys to a truly happy life, it might not sound like a big deal."*
- *"I soon realized that success without joy felt empty."*
- *"Creativity encompasses the ability to discover new and original ideas, connections, and solutions to problems."*
- *"The constant chase for success drained my creativity, and I didn’t know how to keep that spark alive until I looked back and saw how much I had lost."*
- *"Personal growth is more than just going beyond your goals. It is about-it is about nurturing your mind, body and spirit."*
- *"If you are constantly missing out on time with your loved ones, does it really feel like success?"*
- *"The bottom line is don't be afraid to explore and find your color."*
- *"By combining both logic and self-awareness, you start experiencing abundance in your life."*
- *"What do you value most?"*