I recently attended a SWE webinar on win journaling that really opened my mind. I’m typically anti-journaling for many reasons: lack of time and patience, avoidance of my deeper thoughts and emotions or just plain tired. Basically I’m allergic to journaling.

However, when I attended the webinar the take away was really simple. Keep a handy dandy notebook full of wins, big or small. Write down when you have a small success, get a compliment, feel accomplished, etc. I’m so used to dismissing compliments from others and convincing myself I’m failing at everything that I often miss the wins. It also seemed to be ironic that my previous week’s conversation with my therapist was themed around how much I focus on the negative and the unrealistic expectations of myself that I can never reach that I miss out on what I’ve actually accomplished.

So, I tried something different. I got a small notebook and wrote down a compliment a potential client gave me through another co-worker. I wrote the exact quote down in the notebook and put it back on my desk. The next few days were pretty tough at work with back to back deadlines, challenging clients and managing my ever ambitious to-do list. I was having a hard moment and remembered my notebook. I pulled it out and read and re-read the compliment from the potential client and it grounded me to what I was trying to accomplish again. I remembered the main goal of my project – help the client achieve their goals through my design and expertise.

I ended up writing a few motivational quotes of my own in the journal and am now continually thinking of small wins throughout the week to add to it. It is always a good self check to try to change our perspective on something. From thinking of all the negative things to flipping a switch and remembering the good.

I introduced the win journaling concept to my team and have been encouraging them to use it as a tool to document their career and personal successes – big and small. So far I see the inspiration seed growing and can’t wait to see how it affects each one of us in a few months.

#winjournaling #celebratethesmallwins