During the year do you find yourself asking ‘Where has the time gone’?
When reminiscing we think about how things have gone – what we have achieved and what hasn’t been so successful.
Throughout the year I try to keep my focus on the positive and on what I have achieved. I encourage my clients to do this too and not be so hard on themselves if they don’t achieve everything they set out to do. Recording your achievements as they happen will encourage you to keep going when times get tough.
Success Tools
Here are some tools I use to help me stay on track and focused on the positive. I share these and other techniques with my clients. Maybe you could use them too.
1. Keep a Diary
At the beginning of each month, I use this to set some goals for the coming month. I have some that are big and bold and others that are more practical and necessary. By putting goals in my diary I get to see them every day which helps me to make plans and to take daily actions to achieve them. Also, I get to tick things off as I achieve them.
2. A Success Board
Throughout the year I add colourful Post-it notes to a large sheet of A1 paper which I place on a wall. On each Post-it I write an achievement and the date. Some are big and easily recognisable as achievements but most are small and seemingly unimportant. By taking the time to identify and recognise your smaller achievements self-confidence grows as well as the desire to achieve more. My success board acts as a large visual display of all the things I have achieved and on any off-days, I look at it and see how far I’ve come.
3. A Gratitude Diary
I’ve recently started to use a gratitude diary. In it I list 3 things that I’m grateful for (again, small things as well as big). I start each sentence with “I am grateful for………”. This could be anything from my train arriving on time, to a client having great results from working with me on a course of treatments to having electricity to make my morning cup of tea! The mental and emotional health benefits of being grateful and showing gratitude are well documented and feeling grateful can even help you to have a good night’s sleep. Take a look at this amazing video about gratitude.
Now grab a piece of paper and a pen and take some time to highlight all the amazing things you have achieved over the last six months. See how far you’ve come and then put some systems in place to record your future achievements. In days to come when you look back, you’ll be surprised at how much you have achieved. If you’re looking for a special place to write all the things you are grateful for, click here.
About Sharon
Sharon lives with her partner, Geoff, in Warwickshire and they have two adult children. She worked for over 25 years in an office environment, gaining qualifications to degree level in finance, business and management. While there she witnessed and experienced many stressful situations and suffered illnesses that were stress-related.
Sharon was advised to make some changes to her lifestyle which included trying complementary therapies. After experiencing the benefits of complementary treatments, she decided to retrain and share her knowledge and experiences to help others recognise and manage their own physical and emotional stress and anxiety levels.
Sharon has been working as a complementary therapist for over 15 years now, and she loves helping people to feel uplifted, focused, positive and empowered about their lives.
