You’re familiar with gratitude journaling. You practice gratitude journaling regularly — or at least, you know you could benefit from trying it.
For several years now, my regular habit of gratitude journaling has made my life happier. In my gratitude journal, I express gratitude for the big things, like major deals and improvements in life. But more commonly, I express gratitude for the small things — the texture of my microfiber sheets, my warm mug of tea, sunlight in my window. Gratitude journaling helps me find happiness where it feels like there is none.
But after a few years, I started to feel frustrated during my gratitude journaling. I was practicing gratitude for things that were actually the results of the choices I made. The person I should truly be thanking for these things was myself.
- I’m not grateful I found a therapy practice. I’m the one who made a thousand calls to get insurance, then a thousand more calls to find an office that takes mine, and then drove back and forth multiple times a week to show up to appointments. I’m proud.
- I’m not grateful I earned five digits in writing royalties last year. I’m the one who overcame all the obstacles to writing and made it happen, captain. I’m proud.
- I’m not grateful I’m in good health. I’m the one who has made an effort to improve my health despite nearly a decade of chronic illness. I’m the one who dutifully ate gluten-free and attended a panoply of doctor’s appointments over the last decade. I’m proud.
That’s not to say these accomplishments were the result of my pure, unbridled will. The existence of the Ohio Benefits Department has nothing to do with me. But there is an accomplishment in successfully navigating that bureaucratic nightmare and actually managing to secure insurance, and I deserve to feel proud of that.
After a few years of only gratitude journaling, I found myself feeling much happier and luckier to be alive, but no better about myself. My self-confidence could still be tremendously low. After adding in accomplishment journaling, that changed.
Do you know those days when you feel terrible about yourself? When you feel like there’s nothing you can do right and you just want to curl up in bed and have the world go on without you? Accomplishment journaling pulls me out of that.
Even on the worst of days, you have an astonishing amount to be proud of. You woke up, got out of bed, put on your shoes, and went to work. You fed yourself when you were hungry and took a shower when you felt dirty. You picked up around the house and took care of the kids. You practiced your art for half an hour. You noticed and acknowledged your feelings.
How to Use Accomplishment Journaling
When I sit down to journal, I open my journal to two blank pages.
On the first page, I write a list of everything I’m thankful for. Things like my microfiber sheets, sunlight, and the existence of the Ohio Benefits Department. Here, you write down good things in your life that had nothing to do with you.
On the second page, I write everything I’m proud of. I earned the money to buy these sheets. I navigated the treacherous state bureaucracy. I took a walk today. Anything you made happen is an accomplishment.
What counts as an accomplishment? Anything noteworthy. If you struggle to brush your teeth every day, then it’s an accomplishment! If you’ve done it habitually since you were a small child, maybe not.
If it makes you feel good inside, it’s an accomplishment.
You certainly have some accomplishments you’re working towards. You want to take more walks, practice your art, and eat clean. Any day you do these things, you can write them down in your accomplishment journal.
In Conclusion
Gratitude journaling is a powerful tool to make yourself healthier and happier. But gratitude journaling, while fostering a sense of happiness, can sometimes also foster a sense of helplessness and low self-confidence.
Accomplishment journaling is the antidote. With accomplishment journaling, you can thank yourself. Many of the positive things you enjoy about your life are not gifts from external forces, they are the result of things you’ve done. You deserve to feel proud of them.
You can easily combine gratitude journaling with accomplishment journaling. On one page of your journal, write down everything you’re grateful for that you had nothing to do with. On the other, write down good things in your life that are a result of your actions. Watch your self-confidence grow.
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