3 Simple Ways To Appreciate What You Have Accomplished

     2) You actually do have things in your life that you do on a regular basis, but you don’t believe that it’s enough so you minimize what you already do. I call this group the “all or nothing” group.

     3) You see the pursuit of joy a top priority and, in spite of the difficulties of life, pursue it tirelessly.

For those of you who fall into group one, I spent the last two weeks offering suggestions for why this may be. I also gave you some simple, actionable tools in order to begin to change your inner narrative. Plus they are in video format. Find part 1 here, and part 2 here.

Now, I want to talk to those of you in group two.

The other day, a friend and I were talking about this idea. She has many ambitions, is smart, successful, and fully capable to accomplish whatever she puts her mind to. At least, that is what anyone would say if they looked at her life. However, she doesn’t see it that way. She speaks of not having enough time or ability to pursue the things she truly loves because she is a full time-working mom. And yet, she reads more books than I do… significantly more. She listens to podcasts, and gets a much wider variety of information regarding raising successful, healthy kids, how to be a good mom, how to have the right mindset, etc. I only wish that I had that kind of time!

It occurred to me that she was falling into the trap of “not enough.”

In a large part, I think this is due to the nature of our current society. There is a standard and expectation that if we aren’t “killing ourselves” to continue to improve and fit more into the day we aren’t successful.

Even then, it’s just not enough.

Well, my friends, I want to offer something new. A “get out of jail free” card, if you will.

Here are 4 ways to acknowledge what it is you already do… and be proud of it.

1. Ask yourself what things you do, outside of your roles (i.e. mom, wife, assistant, CEO, soccer coach, etc.) that are just for you. This could be reading, writing, painting, drinking a cup of coffee in the morning by yourself, taking a bath, working out, or taking a walk.

I take my morning tea in the same mug every day. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it’s my favorite mug and it brings me joy. It’s the perfect size, keeps my tea at the perfect temperature, and looks pretty. And, it absolutely would fit into this category.

2. Think about how these things make you feel. Why do you do them?

Connect to the sensory part of these actions and they will become much stronger. My favorite mug connects to the sight, smell, touch, taste, and feel senses. You know those coffee commercials you see on TV, where the woman is holding her steaming cup of coffee up to her face and smiling? Yep, that’s me every morning… except with tea.

3. Begin a “proud” journal.

You have heard of a gratitude journal, right? You write down every day what you are grateful for. Well, in this one, you write down every day what you are proud of yourself for accomplishing the day prior. You can also do a weekly snapshot and identify what you are most proud of for the week. But I would suggest starting daily first. After all, it takes 21 days to build a habit! You can pull back from there.

What happened when I started doing this?

I realized that I was writing down pretty much the same thing every day. And that’s ok! Don’t fall into the trap of seeing what you are doing and then getting down on yourself about only doing those; or thinking you need to have more variety. The purpose of this exercise is to realize what you are already doing and be happy with that.

If you end up adding more in, great, but do it with grace and self-love, not out of a “need to” mentality. Because then you will end up right back where you started.

xx

– Elle

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