Signs you are doing better than you think

I watched a video about signs that you are doing better than you think you are today, and wanted to share my thoughts on it as I found it very helpful and motivating. 

The video is "9 Signs You're Doing Better Than You Think (From A Chronic Self-Doubter)" from Morgan Evelyn Cook, you can find it here, and it is amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de_2EjAz7so

I think a very important aspect that Morgan mentioned is being aware of your thoughts and habits, whether they are positive or negative. Why? Because it helps you consider if you are where you want to be, or if you are on the right path towards the goals you have. If not, it helps you identify what needs changing, either now or in the future. 

We all have bad days, bad weeks, or bad months sometimes. Bad habits and negative thoughts are something we all have and experience. It doesn't make you lazy or hopeless; it makes you human. But having that awareness is so crucial because identifying and naming them helps us find ways we can challenge them.

-Are you procrastinating on your goals? Why?

-Are you neglecting your health? What makes you neglect it?

Sometimes, just naming negative things we do helps us turn back towards the path we want to walk. It doesn't have to be a big jump, like switching from no exercise to going to the gym 3 times a week overnight. It can be just watching a motivational video today, or making a simple exercise routine you can do while waiting for your favourite movie series to load. If you are procrastinating on cleaning and your house is a mess, it can be just sweeping the floors in one room, or just washing one cup in the sink. If you feel stuck in your life, it can be learning one new thing, even a new word from the dictionary. Those things are way easier to motivate yourself to do than suddenly running to the gym or deep cleaning your entire apartment, but they can set you on the right path towards achieving that. Habits and permanent changes are built through lots of small steps and minor adjustments after all, starting small is enough. 

But what about the positive things? Those are something we very often skip or forget about. I'm guilty of that too, the first time I watched the video, I was thinking only "What am I doing wrong that I could change?" or "What are my bad habits that I could work on?". 

Sometimes we simply don't notice the things we are doing right; maybe they are overshadowed by things we do wrong, maybe they feel too small, maybe there is some other reason? Honestly, that seems like a very important question to ask yourself if you tend to miss those things too.

I think my answer to that would be that I tend to take things I do right for granted. As those are things I just do, and they are a norm because I do them. 

Morgan mentioned comparing yourself to... yourself, but from some time ago.

What is something you did that you from yesterday would be proud of?

What is something you did that you from a year ago would be proud of?

What did you achieve that you from a month ago would congratulate you on?

The time range is not important. The crucial thing is seeing and naming what you are already doing right. Maybe you cleaned your fridge, like Morgan did. Maybe you learned something new recently. Or you brushed your teeth after skipping that for a while. Whether it is something huge like graduating or leaving a relationship that wasn't right, or it is something smaller like finally washing the dishes that piled up, it matters! It matters because you are making progress and going forward. It doesn't matter how or how much, what's important is that you are going in the right direction and progressing. You are making the right decisions, you are choosing yourself, it is something to be proud of!

Sometimes we are on the right track towards a goal and have a bad day, too. Progress is not a straight path; it's ok, it happens. What's important is that you try. You may think about what made you fail, and start again with that knowledge. Maybe you tried to take the change too fast and burned out? Maybe something happened that made you lose your motivation for some time? What can you do in the future when something like that happens? What can you do to prevent it? Considering things like that may feel uncomfortable, and it's valid. Failing to do something that matters to us can be hard. But treating it as a learning opportunity sometimes can be a huge progress in itself as well, and it can really help us reach the goals we have and get back on the right path towards them with valuable new knowledge and experience.

Please let me know what you think. It is my first actual forum post, and any feedback is appreciated!

Also, what is something you did that you from a month ago would be proud of?

I'll start. I finally organized my entire apartment two weeks ago, and it's been clean since, something that I really struggled with for the last year or so. I think me from a month ago would be really proud of that. ^^