Accomplishment – Big or Small Makes a Difference

In my search for happiness, peace, contentment, joy, or (fill in the blank), the one word that I keep coming back to is “accomplishment.”  There is no greater feeling than when I have accomplished a task.  It is what drives me to do better, work harder, and frankly, be happier.  Even writing this post, I will feel better, have some joy and happiness when it is completed.

As I reflect on how I have improved my work habits over the past 20 years, it is clear that the reason I love the “to do” list is so that I can cross things off the list.  Isn’t that the whole purpose of a “to do” list?  With a recent change in my job description and the New Year, I had an opportunity to upgrade my personal work system.  I realized that this improved system allows me to see my accomplishments whether it is a small task or a big project.  And yes, this makes me happier at work.

At home, things have changed quite a bit.  In the past 2 weeks, our family lost our nanny of 12 years.  In all these years, I have said that she took great care of my kids and even better care of me.  In these last 2 weeks, I realize how spoiled I was and how grateful I am that I had someone taking care of our house as well as our children.  My husband and I have been working together to maintain some sanity as we begin our search for a new housekeeper.  What I know keeps me sane is to do at least 2 things in my home every day – make the beds and clean the kitchen.  If I can accomplish these things, I feel better, not necessarily happier since we have the rest of the house to worry about, but at least I have a small sense of accomplishment.

Reading is also something that gives me great satisfaction.  In the past couple of years, I have made an effort to select books that I want to read.  I’m not reading books just because they are on the top 10 list or on some celebrity’s reading list, instead I have roamed aisles or surfed the internet looking for books that inspire me.  It is true that I take recommendations from friends and colleagues that I respect and in doing so, I have learned so much.  I have also chosen books that in either fiction or non-fiction have a message of empowerment, strength, and spirituality.

And lastly, cooking has given me an almost therapeutic sense of accomplishment.  I have thought this now for many years.  The rhythmic cutting and preparing of ingredients has taught me to focus on one thing at a time, the measurement of ingredients has taught me to follow instructions and with every cooking class I take, I am willing to take new risks in the kitchen so that I actually feel as though I was taught to cook rather than simply mimicking my teachers’ recipes.

Think about how you measure your accomplishments – big and small.  Even the smallest accomplishment can make a difference in your mood and can inspire others to do the same. 

And if you are wondering, I feel happy that I wrote this post and I feel a great sense of accomplishment.  Hope you have enjoyed it.