Michael Phelps and Other Leaders on Finding Happiness: Stop Tying Your Self-Worth to Your Career Success (Video)

‘Being able to look at yourself and like who you see in the mirror — for so long, I never did,’ Phelps said. ‘I looked at myself as a swimmer, and that was it.’

By Hayden Field | Jan 17, 2019

When you’re building a company or career, it’s easy to stake your sense of self on the relative idea of “success.” But that can be toxic in the long-term. In the second episode of Âé¶¹Éç‘s video series on mental health, we explore how thought patterns around success can be the very root of unhappiness and even exacerbate mental health struggles for entrepreneurs.

Four sources with burgeoning careers or companies — including American swimmer , fitness entrepreneur , co-founder Claire Mazur and founder Gabriela Pereira — share their own experiences when it comes to separating their sense of self-worth from the outcome of their work, as well as their advice for other founders.

“You really tend to stake a lot of your sense of self-worth or success on ‘how this company goes,'” Mazur said. “If you’re not taking care of yourself, then you’re not performing well at work.”

Watch the second episode of Âé¶¹Éç‘s video series on mental health for more.

Related:

Hayden Field • Associate Editor

Âé¶¹Éç Staff
Hayden Field is an associate editor at Âé¶¹Éç. She covers technology, business and science. Her... Read more

Related Content