You've achieved one of your biggest goals — nice work! What can you do to get the most out of that success? Reflect on your accomplishment!
Use these 4 reflective journaling prompts to recognize your hard work, celebrate your growth, and help you achieve greater goals.
#1: "How satisfied am I with this accomplishment?"
Ask yourself: "How satisfied am I with this accomplishment?" Satisfaction is how fulfilled or proud you are of your work. Think about how happy you are with your achievement.
Be honest with your thoughts and feelings. If you invested a lot of time and effort, you're more likely to feel proud of your accomplishment. If you feel that you could have done more, let that attitude motivate you toward achieving future goals.
Activity: Reflect on how satisfied you are with your accomplishment in a few sentences or with a number scale from 1-10. Specify the how and why to support your feelings.
#2: "What challenges did I overcome?"
An accomplishment is rewarding because you overcame something difficult. Asking yourself "What challenges did I overcome?" allows you to think about your resilience and problem-solving skills.
No challenge is too big or small. It can be based on:
Beliefs — a mindset that holds you back
Ability — things you thought you couldn't do
A problem — complex situations or issues
Opportunity — needing to find other ways to solve a problem
Collaboration — working with or without others
Reflecting upon the challenge you overcame can boost your self-esteem and overall satisfaction with your accomplishment. You see what you are able to achieve, and you develop confidence in tackling greater goals in the future.
Activity: Pick one challenge you overcame to reach your goal. Describe the situation, explain the steps you took to address it, and share how it led to your success.
#3: "What did I learn?"
Your accomplishment came from a learning journey. Asking yourself "What did I learn from this experience?" can help you identify and transfer strategies toward future goals. You can talk about the skills and knowledge you picked up or how you grew as a person.
Ask yourself:
Who supported you? ("__ supported me by...")
What actions did you take? ("I learned that doing __ can...")
What strategies or resources did you use? ("I learned about __ which...")
What should you avoid in the future? ("I learned that __ is not helpful because...")
How did I change as a person? ("I learned that I...")
Activity: List two things you learned while working towards your goalor after reaching your goal.
Quiz
Diego is reflecting upon his experiences with job interviews after getting a position as a mechanic. What should he write down as things he learned from his experience? Select all that apply:
#4: "What is my next big accomplishment?"
Set yourself up for success by thinking about your next goal: "What is my next big accomplishment?" This can be a short-term goal or a long-term goal.
Short-term goals include:
goals that can be achieved within a few months or a year (finding a job)
stepping stones or progress toward a larger goal (saving $100 a month)
individual situations (doing well on tests to pass a difficult class)
Long-term goals include:
goals that might take years and a lot of planning to reach (buying a house)
short-term goals to reach the larger goal (passing classes to graduate)
visions for your life and future (wanting a successful career as a doctor)
Planning your future success allows you to use the skills you picked up from your latest accomplishment.
Transfer ideas onto paper to solidify your intention to achieve the next big thing. Use what you learned to create action steps — specific tasks you can take — to help you achieve your new goal.
Activity: Name one goal you want to achieve (short- or long-term) and write down 3 action steps you can take to reach that goal.
Example:
Goal: Start a small business selling hats
Action steps:
Contact suppliers
Build a website
Create ads on social media
Take Action
Let your accomplishments inspire you to achieve the next big thing using these journaling prompts. By recognizing and celebrating how far you've come, you'll create a cycle of success that will encourage you to persevere and smash another goal!
Make the most out of your achievements by:
Your feedback matters to us.
This Byte helped me better understand the topic.