Success, Meaning, or Both? The Role of Value-Alignment in Sustainable Performance

By: April Dvorak and Jim Davis

Professional drive is healthy. It channels energy toward growth, innovation and the optimization of potential. But it can have a dark side, if we lose control of the reins.

It is easy to become caught in constant pursuit of the next thing. It might be the next promotion, the next project, the next opportunity to prove our worth. Our sense of value comes from progress, recognition and external signals of success. Many professionals live in this rhythm.

Except more often than not, it does not fall into rhythm at all. It feels more like a stressful, strained linear climb. We begin to wonder if we are doing enough, or moving quickly enough, to be seen as valuable. For many, this strained mindset becomes the seed of hesitation and even burnout - interrupting the progress at which we aimed. For some, the drive to perform is their primary performance inhibitor.

This might all come down to a simple but under-recognized idea: the misalignment of what we value and how we feel valued.

For example, one might say that their primary values are family, friends and health. Yet they feel valued through social media approval or material items - which is not to say that any of those things are bad, or they are misdirected for wanting them. Only that it is worth reflecting on the potential disconnect.

Slowing down and getting clear on what is important to you can feel good and create a pathway to sustainable high performance.

What’s Important to You?

Before identifying your desired title, or how much money you want to make, you might first ask, what is important to me? What are my values?

Who do I want to be? Not in a job title, but as a coworker, friend, family member and beyond. Then work backwards through daily actions. Am I offering a helping hand to the coworker who seems stressed? Do I make people around me feel welcomed and appreciated?

Am I kind? Am I caring? Am I creative? This sort of question shifts attention inward. When internal values define the barometer of success, we can reclaim agency over sense of meaning. Here, “success” can move from abstract and unattainable, to sustainable and fulfilling.

It sounds nice. But it’s easier said than done.

Since we can’t objectively "measure" the success of these things, we have to be intentional about reflecting on them.

This kind of reflection often happens in quiet moments. It can arise on the walk to work, before bed, or during a session with a trusted counselor. In those moments, the noise of external comparison fades. We can distinguish between what we truly believe and what has been imposed by culture or circumstance. We can break free from cultures of constant availability, perpetual stress and a disconnected drive toward outcomes identified by, well, not ourselves.

That realization does not erase ambition or the desire to improve. It simply reorients it. Tangible goals like a promotion or public acclaim will come more naturally when living in alignment with our values. And, once accomplished, come with a deeper sense of fulfillment.

When we are in tune with our values, awareness expands. We notice more in our environment and relationships. We become more generous and less guarded. Letting go of a scarcity mindset, for example, allows generosity to grow as a genuine value rather than a strategic gesture. These small shifts create space for integrity to take root in daily life.

Worth it.

None of this is easy. Self-doubt does not disappear. Even when we commit to living by internal values, moments of questioning remain. The difference is that those doubts become more sustainable. They no longer demand external approval. Instead, they call us to close the internal gap between who we are and who we want to be.

When our worth depends only on external success, it remains fragile. A company can restructure. A role can change. Recognition can fade. When our worth is grounded in values such as kindness, curiosity and generosity, it endures. The motivation to improve still exists, but it comes from a desire to live more fully, not from fear of being left behind.