Are You Aware of What You Attain?

Do you like to achieve your goals? Does the thought of receiving awards and recognition make you feel happy? When you look back at everything you've ever accomplished, do you think about how far you've come? These seem like simple questions to answer, but consider this next question. Are you aware of what you've actually attained? Really, do you have awareness of what you've obtained?

It may seem like a simple question to answer. A person could look at trophies, certificates, medals, and other tangible items that could measure success. Another person may look at attainment in terms of promotions and pay raises. Someone else could look at attaining their goals different from what I mentioned. Regardless of individual perception, ask yourself whether your satisfied or if you continue to look to the future.

Throughout my life, I have been considered to be a notorious goal-setter and long-term planner. It is easy for me to set goals that will be achieved 5 years from now. Unfortunately, I used to look past the goals I achieved daily, no matter how big or small they were. For example, when I was in high school, I was focused on getting into college. I was so focused that I didn't pay attention to the fact that I performed well on projects and exams and exceeded my supervisor's expectations at work. This continued through my undergraduate and master's degree programs. I wanted to graduate and become a great teacher, but focusing on those goals caused me to neglect the importance of meeting small goals (i.e., becoming a better academic writer, understanding research, etc.). Had I focused on what I attained along the way, I would have discovered internal happiness a long time ago.

I am not telling you to stop focusing on long-term goals to focus on short-term ones. What I telling you is that, no matter how big or small the goal may be, you should have awareness of everything you attain each day. Once you do this, it will make each success that much greater. If you don't know how to begin doing this, then I want you to do 1 simple exercise each day. I want you to write down 5 things you accomplished and/or 5 goals that were achieved each day. As you do this exercise each day, I think you will begin to not only see what you've attained, but you will see the beauty that lies within each experience that led to the goal or accomplishment.