Accomplishments – You need to acknowledge them first

If you want others to see your value you must first see it in yourself. Here are two exercises that will help you focus on your own accomplishments.

Accomplishment List

I got this idea from Jack Canfield’s book The Success Principles which I recommend everyone should read. Create a list of all the things that you have accomplished over your life. Make the list extensive and go back as far as you can remember. I learned to whistle when I was very young and I used to drive my parents and strangers crazy with it. Is this an accomplishment that shows my value as a business leader right now? Not really, but it does demonstrate to myself the characteristics of the person this skill helped form.

You do not need to ever show this list to another person so add anything that you feel was an accomplishment for you, no matter how small. I think you will find you will need many sheets of paper to complete this.

Also note that this is a living document. Continue to add new accomplishments.

Daily Accomplishments

This exercise I learned from Fabienne Fredrickson. At her suggestion I purchased a daily journal that is for this use only. Each day I write the date at the top of a page and numbers five lines (from 1 to 5). When I complete a task I then enters the accomplishment into a line until all five are filled every day.

This is not a task list but a list of things you did. They may not be complete, but maybe you reached out to someone you have been afraid to call and left a message or you got the first part of a process underway, or you stopped procrastinating and got your bookkeeping started, or you got a gig speaking to your peers. It may even be something personal, especially if you cannot fill all five lines with your business accomplishments. All five lines should be completed every day.

This allows you to take note of your worth. It may seem like you have not done anything, but looking back through these days can make you realize how much you do and how much you are valued by your company and your family.

Bonus – Gratitude

A bonus exercise has to do with Jack Canfield’s book Gratitude – A Daily Journal. Each day you will give thanks for the things you have today and for the things you have in your future. Gratitude is a great way to acknowledge your current worth and to visualize your value to your future.