Women in Power- The Third Metric of Success

International Women’s Day

Hey Ladies!

Happy International Women’s Day! What a special day!

Recently I have been reading a book called “Thrive”, by Arianna Huffington. For those of you who do not know who Arianna Huffington is, she is the Founder of Huffington Post, the founder and CEO of Thrive Global, and the author of over 15 books. She is a woman of great achievement,tremendous wealth, and nothing short of a great role model for all women and girls out there.

“Thrive” is a must-read book! Arianna Huffington outlines in her novel that women are meant to THRIVE! However, there are many women in positions of power or women who are working hard to be successful that become burnt-out, stressed, and sleep-deprived. She emphasizes the importance of integrating the “Third Metric of Success” into our daily lives.

The “Third Metric of Success” and its principles are intertwined in the principle of being able to find balance. BALANCE, BALANCE, BALANCE. She compares prosperous success to a 3-legged stool. Two legs of the chair are money and power, which only work for short-term success. Many people only operate on these two legs and don’t succeed long term. As outlined in the novel, the third leg contains 4 sub pillars: well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving. This is especially important for women who are in highly demanding jobs, earning degrees, and in entrepreneurship roles. I know that I personally am prone to forget about finding balance while in school and running a blog. Life just gets so busy.

From reading this novel, here are 3 reasons why we women should attempt to integrate the “Third Metric of Success” into our lives.

1. Health

The Third Metric of Success considers women’s health! The novel accurately shows how without balance, health becomes at risk. Arianna writes that “women in highly stressful jobs have a nearly 40% increased risk of heart disease and heart attacks” and “stress and pressure from high-powered careers can also be a factor in the resurgence of eating disorders”. 

This is a wake-up call: pay attention to your health!

2. More Equipped to Accomplish More

Women are already and continue to be highly accomplished individuals in society and all around the world. Arianna mentions that, “by sleeping more we, in fact become more competent and in control of our lives. It gives new meaning to the old canard of women sleeping our way to the top. Women have already broken glass ceilings in Congress, space travel, sports, business, and the media imagines what we can do when we’re fully awake.

3. Being apart of the Third Metric

As women, we are brought up in society where being stressed and burnt out is the definition of true success. The good thing is that we are in control of changing this in the lives of our families, at school, and in our workplaces. As Arianna said in an interview with Schawbel on Forbes, “don’t just go out there and climb the ladder of success. Instead redefine success. Because the world desperately needs it.

Well that’s it from me! I really hope you read this book and share this article, because it has positively changed my view of success for the better. Happy International Women’s Day to all the women out there! I hope that as you read this article today you are empowered to be successful by redefining what success means and finding your balance.

Till next time,

Article also available on HerCampus Waterloo