Welcome to 31 Days of Self-care

 

I often hear the question “where do you see yourself in five years?”.

It’s been a too-long, favorite of employment interviews. I’ve never really seen the value. Rather ask directly about a person’s aspirations, their vision of their future. Why put a time stamp on vision?

It’s good to look ahead. However, there’s value in reflecting on our past and present accomplishments.

Reflecting on “7 Achievements That Inspired Our Younger Self” helps in owning who and where we are. It’s a great icebreaker for group meetings or even over coffee with our friends. Why? Because life has a way of teaching us to forget. It’s in our accomplishments that we can have a better vision of our journey. Our accomplishments come from the fruit of our labors – lessons learned from positive and perceived negative actions in our life.

We tend to get stuck in remembering old versions of ourselves. In that “stuckness” we too often focus on what we think we haven’t done well. Recalling our accomplishments, however large or small we perceive them helps us to get unstuck.

Here are 7 of mine in no particular order.

  1. I have learned the importance of living and dying.
  2. Faced with the uncertainty of surviving a critical health crisis, I opened my eyes each morning anyway. 
  3. I have accomplished the ability to see that cruelty and its proliferation stems from the lack of humanity’s understanding and support of one another. That which needs fighting is more easily fought with clearer sight.  
  4. I have learned I am always loved and loving myself is not selfish, it is necessary.
  5. I’ve wanted so many times to give up on life. I didn’t. That’s a great accomplishment.
  6. I have birthed a beautiful family whom I know has great faith and resiliency. 
  7. I have learned to play five instruments – cello, piano, organ, flute, xylophone.

Now! Remember past accomplishments and write them down.

Pull them out when you have self-doubts. Scribble notes in the margins, a napkin, the note paper you downloaded. Where did these accomplishments take you? Whatever first comes to you – write that.

It would benefit us all to share in the comments about our achievements. As many as we wish that we may help each other to be inspired!