Take a Step Back. You’re Doing it Right.
Look at what you’ve accomplished. Take time to give yourself some credit instead of constantly beating yourself up.
Recently I’ve written about learning to let myself be in the present. That’s something I’m still processing. The present is certainly important, but so is the future. We have to set goals. Otherwise we’re just walking around aimlessly.
But what about the past?
A lot of us have a love/hate relationship with the past that usually swings more towards hate. The past is filled with regret and missed opportunities. That’s why we always look forward.
What if we changed that?
What if we gave ourselves permission to revisit the past in a positive light every once in a while?
Look back over the last few months. I guarantee there were successes. Yes, there were probably failures too. But we’re not talking about those right now.
I tend to be a harsh critic of myself. I notice my shortcomings easily. Maybe you can relate. But today, I decided to take a step back and look at what I’ve done over the last few months. And you know what?
I’ve had a lot of success.
I don’t say that to brag, and it’s not like I’ve won Gold Medals or been to Macchu Picchu. But I’ve done some good work, and I’ve grown so much. That’s good.
Maybe you need to do that today.
I encourage you to give yourself permission to recognize where you’ve had success. Give yourself some credit. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re doing alright. In fact, you’re probably rocking it at life and you don’t even know it.
Goals are very important. Enjoying the present is vital. But giving yourself an accurate view of the past and space to notice your successes can be a real game-changer.
So, let’s stop talking about this and do it.
Look back over the last 2 months. Since the start of the new year, where have you succeeded? I encourage you to write down at least five successes you’ve had since the beginning of 2016. Here’s my list:
- I identified myself as a writer.
- My sports writing was published.
- I read a book.
- I went over and above on a project at work.
- I’ve lost 5 pounds.
You can keep going if you want. The goal of this exercise is not to make you prideful, but to help you see that you’re doing ok. Great, in fact! This really struck me today, and I wanted to share it with you.
If you’d like, respond to this post with your own list. I’d love to see where you’re succeeding!
Aaron Charles is a writer and marketing account executive from Indiana. You can connect with him on Twitter, Medium or Instagram. Aaron and his wife Sarah run a Medium publication called Cooking With Sarah that documents their weekly cooking adventures.
