At the start of 2022, I started a “five-year journal.” I write one sentence summarizing the happenings of each day.
As I record daily in 2023, I read about how things were on each particular day last year. I am surprised at the progress, growth and changes within my life, and my family members’ lives, despite not always thinking much is different.
It is easy for us to compare ourselves to other people. It is even easier to compare ourselves to an unrealistic, idolized version of our self. When we somehow fall short in our mind, we can feel guilty or embarrassed. This feeling of shame robs our freedom and kills our joy. This critical energy toward our self is typically not very helpful to inspire us to do better.
If, however, we compare ourselves with who we were in the past, with the modifications we have made, we can be proud of our progress, even with the mundane aspects of what matters in our life.
My son reflects on how far his art has come. I snapped these pictures of his drawing journal. I was intrigued to see how he has replicated his drawing journey. He said it helps him feel better about what he does when he sees how much he has improved. I love this.
Transformation is often subtle with itty bitty, incremental shifts. Taking time to record snapshots of time allows us to observe our progress and build our self-trust.
I encourage you to purchase a five-year journal or simply start one with a notebook you have laying around. You do not have to wait until the start of a new year to do this. It is a wonderful way to document a quick, condensed, summary of each day. Your future self will thank you for this comparative tool to track the changes in your life.
Wishing you a day to think back on where you were on this day last year while inviting you to take time out to write down how today was.
As always, please feel free to share a comment about this and share this with others.
Here is a link to a previous post where I wrote more about “Monitoring the Middle Matters for Momentum”
