Olympic medallist? Not me...
I spent a fair amount of this year's rainy summer watching the Olympics on T.V.
Some people are just phenomenal achievers, aren’t they? As my eyes moved from the performance on the television to my own body, curled up on the sofa in a duvet, still in my pajamas on Sunday afternoon, I became acutely aware of my comparative lack of achievement.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking ‘nothing I do makes any difference’. You come home from work through rush hour traffic, eat, watch a film, sleep, wake up, go to work and do it all again, and nothing changes in the world.
Sometimes I find it helpful to ask myself some questions to take stock of my life. What are my goals? What do I want to achieve on a daily basis? Each year? In my work? With my family?
Aiming for my personal best
One of my goals is to develop great relationships with my friends and family. So if I’m in touch with the people who are important to me, if I’m remembering to be kind to my closest friends, and if I’m there for them when they need me, that’s an achievement.
At work, my greatest goal is to enjoy what I do. It might sound selfish, but I’ve found that when I’m enjoying my work, I achieve more, I’m more productive, I have more original ideas, and I put more effort in, all because I want too. If I’m enjoying my work, I tend to be a nicer colleague, and come home in a better mood as well!
Another of my goals is to achieve my potential. It might sound ambitious, but really, in my case, it’s just a way of making sure I don’t vegetate.
If my potential this year is larger than it was in 2007, that’s because I sometimes have to push myself to do something I’m not sure that I will be able to do. Last year, I would stare at an excel spreadsheet with glazed eyes, before closing the window and pretending it didn’t exist. This year I’m learning to create a basic template for accounts. It’s not my favourite thing to do, but it does make me feel more confident in my ability to keep tabs on what’s going on with my finances.
Taking stock
Everyone’s different, and your goals might sound nothing like my own. To help us to inject meaning and focus into our lives, it helps to ask ourselves some questions. Maybe these could be good to start with…
- What makes a good day ‘good’?
- What can I do to make that happen?
- What do I really care about?
- What have I achieved today?
- Within my ability, what can I do to make life better for someone else?
- What do my relationships look like?
- Do I need to give myself a break?
- Do I need some motivation to get up and get going?
It’s not as if everyone needs to become an Olympic champion. But if my life is going to have meaning, if I’m going to achieve something worthwhile, and if I’m going to enjoy each day as it arrives, sometimes it helps to take stock.
Written by Becky Matyus. Posted on 21st August.
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