This post sparked to life in conversation with a brilliant coaching client. There were so many big changes to celebrate when we looked back!
And just as importantly, smaller ones too, which they had decided to capture in a weekly “Well done” list.
I loved this idea SO much!
I know how much it helps to look back - if we don’t pause for perspective, it’s easy to miss our progress - and this sounded like a fun way to do it.
So, at the end of last week I sat down to write my own list:
Completed week 7 of couch to 5k (yes, the programme I started in September, there have been ups and downs!).
Finished the structure for the new version of my website, and started drafting the content (it won’t be live for another few weeks, but I can now see what it will be).
Spring cleaned our bedroom and decluttered several years of outdated paperwork (team effort with my lovely husband).
Listened to 7 days of a 30-day meditation programme (14 down, 16 to go).
It was a really useful exercise, especially when I noticed how automatically I added a caveat after every one (in brackets).
At the time it felt like the voice of reason - don’t get ahead of yourself, you’re not there yet! Yet it didn’t help to have it there, playing the progress down and focusing on what’s left to do, rather than what’s been done.
And I know it’s not just me. Listening to the “yes, but…” voice in the brackets is such an easy trap to fall into!
But just because something isn’t finished doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge the steps we’ve taken.
What would be on your “Well done” list for this week?
Can you celebrate the progress you’ve made and see how far you’ve come?
And can you do it without the “Yes, but…” voice in the brackets?
Wishing you a week of progress, not perfection,
