When you achieve something, it feels good; doesn’t it? Most of us can recall moments in childhood when we won a spelling bee or a foot race or some other award. Chances are, you still feel good when you recollect those special moments from your past. You might even smile when you think of it. There’s a difference between struggling with the sin of pride (which is a false pride) and being proud of yourself for meeting goals that you’ve set or gaining a sense of accomplishment in life. As a Christian, my accomplishments are always closely interwoven with gratitude toward God. I understand that anything I’m capable of achieving is because He has blessed me. On my own, I’m capable of nothing. With Him and in Him, I can do all things.
Sometimes, we can get so busy or distracted or downtrodden in life that we lack a sense of accomplishment. In fact, we might fall into a rut where we’re questioning whether anything we’ve done or said has made a valuable difference in the world. Mother Teresa of Calcutta always used to say that we don’t have to do great things, only small things with great love. I would say that neither do we have to achieve great things in order to feel a sense of accomplishment in life. There are many ways to achieve this feeling, which boosts our spirit and improves our outlook and self image.
Everyday life is full of opportunities to gain a sense of accomplishment
Every person is a unique and unrepeatable being. Each person has skills, talents and gifts endowed by the Creator to share with the world. You might be surprised to learn how easy it can be to develop a sense of accomplishment in your day-to-day life. The following list includes 11 things that you can do to make you feel like you’ve accomplished something worthwhile:
- Try something you’ve always wanted to do.
- Learn about a topic you’ve always been interested in or further your education in some way.
- Tackle a tedious home project, such as deep-cleaning closets or washing down all the walls.
- Spend the next 30 days replacing a bad habit with a good one.
- Set an achievable goal for the next day or week or month, etc. and be diligent and motivated to succeed.
- Resolve (or, at least, address) a problem that has been lingering in your life or in a relationship.
- Commit to saving a certain amount of money each week for one, two or more months.
- Make a positive change in your morning or bed time routine.
- Replace an unhealthy food you typically eat often with a healthy choice, instead.
- Write a list of changes you want to make in life, and make at least one of them.
- Challenge yourself physically — running a certain distance in a certain amount of time or doing a specific number of squats, etc.
Even if you were only to do one of the things on this list, I can almost guarantee that you’d feel a sense of accomplishment in the end. If you were to do two, three, five or ALL of the things on this list, it would undoubtedly have a tremendous, positive impact on your life. Especially if you’ve been struggling with feelings of inadequacy or poor self-image, completing the tasks on this list may help you see yourself and the world around you in a better light.
Intention is the start of every accomplishment
There’s a saying that even the longest journeys in life begin with one small step. This is true, whether you’re starting a business or learning how to do something new or trying to overcome addiction, etc. There has to be a first step. And, if you think about it, that step actually begins before you have physically taken a step. The first “step” is your intention. You must intend to achieve the goal you’re setting for yourself. If there’s no intention, there will never be a physical step.
When you have a firm intention to do something, there’s no stopping you! Finding opportunities in life where you must form an intention, then act to see it through is a healthy process. And, it can lead to a great sense of accomplishment, which, in turn, can help you have a more positive outlook on life. It’s a great feeling to be able to say, “I did it!” When our goals involve self-improvement, there’s bound to be some discomfort involved in achieving them. We must be willing to meet that discomfort head-on in order to get to the other side of it, where a sense of accomplishment awaits us!
Step outside of your comfort zone
Perhaps the thing you want to achieve has to do with making healthier food choices. It’s far more easy and comfortable to just go ahead and eat the bag of chips. You might experience quite a bit of discomfort by letting the chips sit there and opting for a bowl of berries or nuts, instead. Maybe your garage has been a horrific mess for several years now. Every time you walk through it, you think about how badly it needs cleaned. But, you always find an excuse why it has to wait. It’s much more comfortable that way; isn’t it? On the other hand, it might be uncomfortable to give up watching TV or scrolling social media over the weekend to tackle the garage task.
Think of the wonderful sense of accomplishment you’ll have when the project is complete! The intention comes first, then the willingness to take the first step. From there, you’ll find it easier to keep going until you’ve finished whatever it is you set out to do. It feels GOOD to set goals and accomplish them. However big or small, complex or simple a particular goals happens to be doesn’t matter in the least. What’s important is that you form an intention, then act on it and see it through to completion. Gaining a sense of accomplishment can give you reason to smile and make you feel good about life!
