It’s Okay To Celebrate Your Accomplishments

“I’m not comfortable talking about my accomplishments.”

I hear this from people when we are talking about their resumes.  When we are planning for an interview and when we are talking about preparing for performance reviews.

So many of us have difficulty discussing what we have done well.  Do you have trouble?  Here’s how to tell:

• Set a timer for one minute – and then, in that minute, make a list of things you could have improved about your week last week.
• Next, set a timer for one minute again, and write down a list of what you did well last week.

Which list was easier for you? 

It is always easier for me to come up with a list of things I wish I had done differently.  It is hard for me to come up with the things I did well.

Luckily, learning to celebrate your accomplishments is not hard.  It can be uncomfortable at first, but if you practice daily, then it will get much easier over time. 

How do you practice?  Well, you only need to do the second exercise every day.

At the same time every day, ask yourself, “What are three things I did well in the last 24 hours?” and write down your answers.  Here’s an example:

So tell me, what about you?  What have you done well in the last 24 hours?

If you practice answering this question every day, then you are practicing talking about your accomplishments to yourself.  

It won’t be possible to get better at talking about your accomplishments to others, if you are not good at talking about them to yourself. 

So, do this every day.  You will be surprised at how much easier it gets and how much better you feel about your work.