I posted all my Christmas cards yesterday and I’m that proud! I’ve never before managed to get them off so early. Usually, I’m the one trooping up to the post office on 21st December, hoping that Mr Postman will come through for me. But this year, they’re in the post and how good do I feel!

But, let’s be honest, this year was easy. I’m well and I’m not working. I haven’t had anything else to do really. I’m not giving up that proud feeling, though, and I put down a solid three on the Pride card when I did the test this morning.

But it got me thinking. How often do we fail to take pride in our achievements, especially the little ones? We go through the day not noticing all the things we get done. Instead, we beat ourselves up for all the things we don’t do, or for all the things we get wrong. What about all the things we get right today?

I don’t know if you’re reading this first thing in the morning or in the evening, but just have a brief look at yesterday or today. I’m sure there were many achievements. I mean, you got out of bed for a start. There are many for whom just getting out of bed is a major achievement. I’ve been there myself. There have been days when just taking a shower took everything I had.

There’s always something to take pride in, no matter how small the achievement. What’s more, it’s easy to set yourself up for small wins every day. Writing a list of daily chores gives the satisfaction of ticking things off – just so long as you don’t fall into the trap of making the list so long you see only those things you haven’t managed to complete.

Today, a task I have written down is to wash the towels. It’s only a small thing, but by writing it down and ticking it off, I gain a sense of pride. I can give the Pride card at least a two. There are other things on the list, but these days, I’m careful not to let that list get too long. I need to give the bathroom a deep clean, but that’s for tomorrow.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the stuff we have to do. That’s not my problem at present, but it has been in the past. The trick is to look at what you have managed to achieve, instead of looking at the overwhelm of what you still have to do. It’s a bit like climbing a mountain; it’s good to look back and see how far you’ve come rather than just looking at how far you still have to go.

Well, I’m not climbing a mountain today, but I’m just off to collect all the towels, sort them by colour and put the first load in the washing machine. That will be one task ticked off and I can feel proud.

Mary

A Moodscope member