Why You Should Keep A Running List of Your Career Accomplishments

 

Some experiences are those that we remember with butterflies in our tummy and a giddy smile upon our faces, while others not so much. Our experiences often contribute to defining who we are and what perspectives we have on life but as time passes by these memories begin to fade and our experience, whatever little our minds have savaged, begin to rust one day at a time. So to avoid that our career  accomplishments are often up on the fridge or framed in the living room, and wherever they are, they serve as a reminder of our competence, ability and proficiency.

So imagine what would happened if we remembered them in their full glory? Each accomplishment, not just the one’s you remembered to put on your fridge.  Yup, the possibility is exhilarating! So here are the top reasons why you must keep an updated running list of your career accomplishments!

To See Where You Are

A checklist exists in most of our minds. Every successful individual has a to- do list which is ticked off one bit at a time, one accomplishment at a time. This to- do list virtual or real is a gentle reminder of where you are and where you are headed. This keeps you on task and motivated. On task because you know where you are and motivated because of everything you’ve achieved!

To See Where You’re Going

So the road ahead is long, tiring and difficult. Isn’t it always? For, if it’s not, surely you’re on the wrong road. But how do you know where are going. Life has no map and though you have an idea of where you are headed you may not always know how to get there.  Your accomplishments then become your landmarks. They help you gauge your way around and make sense of how to get where you are going and see how far you’ve gotten!

 

To See What Worked And What Didn’t

Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine ways to not make a bulb but 1 way to ultimately make the bulb. Not everything works out the way we want it to — or the way it should. Now you have kind of an idea of what works for you and what doesn’t. Keeping a list, a constantly updated list of your accomplishments, helps you see where you excel and where you don’t. Many times you’ll see that there is a pattern to your successes. These patterns help you figure out where your strengths lie and how to improve upon your weaknesses.

To Give Yourself Choices

This brings us to another very important aspect of writing down your experiences. Your accomplishment may not all be of the same type. They all needed effort but some needed more and some needed lesser effort. Why were some of your tasks so demanding? What was it about the other tasks that made it easier? Well now you have a whole of horde of choices to look for and to search from! You can revisit memory lane and see the choices you had in the past and the ones you have currently and the ones you would possibly want in the future!

To Relive Your Experiences

That feeling when you achieve, those emotions that burst free for finally getting that nod, from yourself, when you know you’ve done it. It lasts a moment. In the grand scheme of life that feeling lasts merely a moment and maybe a moment too short. If it just lasted longer. The whole experience of an achievement is an adrenaline rush like no other; the effort that went into it, the planning, the tasking, the execution and the final result. All of it falls into place better in retrospect than it did at the time of the event.   So what better way to feel that rush once again, but only, better. Write down your accomplishments to relive them.

To Redo Your To-Do List

Does it end at feeling good? Nope! You got to redo your to do list. Now that you know what worked and what didn’t, how much work you needed to put in, what mistakes you made, what you could have done better, it’s time to update your list and see where you are off to after this. Chart out your future plans, plot your ways to success and get ready to take over the world!

To Get An Occasional Ego Boost

Last but not the least, an accomplishment is a good much deserved ego boost. And why not? You’ve worked hard and you deserve it! So every once in awhile, give yourself a time out and revel in your accomplishments because well let’s be honest who doesn’t like an ego boost?