Do You Minimize and Belittle Your Accomplishments?

Do you give yourself credit for everything you accomplish daily? 

It feels so good when you do. 

It boosts your energy and confidence. It gives you that much needed encouragement to help you slay that next task, especially when life gets challenging.

I’m infamous for feeling like I’ve barely accomplished anything despite my long list of accomplishments. 

Over the years my life coach would alway joke about how I’d show up to my coaching sessions feeling like I’d missed the ball each week yet my email checks-ins were often pages long with everything I’d accomplished. 

I was often only seeing my shortfalls. I wasn’t giving myself credit for what I was accomplishing. Clearly this wasn’t serving me. 

Beating myself up afterwards wasn’t motivating me to get more done either. It was draining me.

No matter what I did, it was never enough. My to-do list never ended. It often sent me into overwhelm and stuck mode.

My coach helped me celebrate my accomplishments and keep the ball rolling.

First, I learned how to regularly plan the results I wanted to create in my life each week so I didn’t have a never ending to-do-list! 

That way I could measure my progress against my specific goals instead of a bottomless to-do-list. I had my blueprint for success each week, so there was no spinning in overwhelm about what to do next.

Second, I learned to have my own back and show up for myself no matter what. 

When I say I’ll do something, I do it. It’s energizing instead of draining. 

I also established a track record of honoring my commitments to myself.

But sometimes I fail. 

And part of having my own back is being kind and compassionate to myself when things don’t work out as planned. I’m human after all and I’m not perfect. 

But when I know I can rely on myself to show up with loving kindness when things go wrong instead of being my own worst critic, it is a huge relief.

Third, I learned to let go of feeling inadequate.

For many of us the root cause of downplaying our accomplishments goes much deeper. It’s this deep sense of inadequacy, that no matter what we do it will never be good enough. 

This comes from our thoughts about ourselves.

Maybe we have conscious or unconscious thoughts like “I’m not good enough”, “I’ll never be enough,” “I’m not up to par” or “I’m not lovable,” etc. 

When we think these thoughts our brain naturally searches for evidence that it’s true, and if it doesn't find any, it will create it. It’s our human nature to do so. It is normal. 

For instance, let’s say you have an upcoming presentation to a group of 100 entrepreneurs and you have the thought “I’m not good enough.” 

This thought might make you feel inadequate and which feels very uncomfortable. 

Squirming in discomfort you attempt to avoid the feeling by eating a tub of ice-cream and watching six episodes of the TV show LOST. Then you beat yourself up for being lame and not practicing enough for the presentation. 

As a result, you end up being unprepared for the presentation and a hot mess. You created your reality with your original thought “I’m not good enough.”

The good news is that you can change the results you create with some awareness around your thoughts, practice in processing your emotions in a healthy way and unconditional love and kindness to yourself when things are tough. 

So if you are someone who likes to gloss over or belittle your accomplishments, sit down today and set up a new routine to regularly notice and celebrate them. You are worth it! 

I like to do it every Friday afternoon when I’m wrapping up my week and assessing the results I’ve created. Another idea is to jot down a few accomplishments at the end of each day. 

Do what works for you. 

Experiment and let me know how it goes. 

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🦋 Are you minimizing your accomplishments and feeling unfulfilled? Let’s chat. Hop on a free call with me to discuss what’s going on and how I could help you. Click here. You’ll walk away with some insights that will help you own your accomplishments and celebrate yourself. No strings attached. Just come as you are. Look forward to meeting you.