Recently, I read about Mirna Valerio in an article featured on Runner’s World. Before she begins each daily run, she takes a selfie to document the accomplishment. Due to her weight and possibly her race, she indicates that people often do a double-take when she runs past. It is an article worth reading so hit the link (after you finish my post) and go check it out.
After reading the article, I thought, hmmm, I am not sure that I have ever put much thought into my individual, daily accomplishments. Accomplishments in my life have always been on a much bigger scale. Growing up, bringing home a report card, getting through a semester, finishing a school year, starting summer, or getting through life. These are the accomplishments that received my thoughts. Getting through a day did not draw the attention that larger accomplishments brought. No one asked, about my day at school or if I completed a specific task. Days passed mostly unnoticed. Final grades on a report card, semester attendance, and finding a summer job were the accomplishments that kept me in or out of trouble.
As an adult, I have never spent a lot of time thinking about my daily accomplishments 
because they are basically the things that I must do and I simply do them. I get up most mornings by 4:30 to climb stairs and trot around the neighborhood. I do not consider these events accomplishments so much as I consider them part of who I am and what I do.
I do set personal goals but they are sporadic and on the fly. As I am heading out, I might decide to spend two hours climbing stairs instead of one or I might decide to go for ten miles instead of my usual 5-6. These thoughts last long enough for me to make a decision and I move on. Sometimes, I am in the middle of a workout and I set a goal, which could be to call it done and go home.
Following my morning workout, I race home and during the 10 minute drive, I call my partner to say hi. At home, I have one hour to get ready for work, pack my lunch, make my coffee, and head back out the door.I jump in the car, pickup the grands, drive them to school, sit in traffic, and arrive at my desk somewhere between 845 and 915.
10 Minute Post – How I have learned to enjoy my morning commute.
Writing this article, has made me realize that each morning, there are accomplishments that I should spend at least a few moments appreciating but I cannot get a much larger thought out of my head:
At what point do daily life events become accomplishments?
I have always been the person who takes whatever is placed before me and I deal with it in the way that I believe is required. Of course, getting up at 4:24 (I guess I was too lazy to change it to 4:25 – often, I am good with “close enough”) is not always easy but it is easier than laying in bed for two hours making excuses and saying that I will make it up tomorrow because I know that I will not. So, I get up and get it done. To me, getting up is not an accomplishment, it is a fact of my life. If I stay in bed, nothing useful will come of that and if I get up, I can move forward in my day.
After writing this article, I am leaning towards changing nothing about how I view my daily life. In my life, small events, such as exercise are not deserving of photo documentation or spending much time thinking about them.
Everyone has a different story to tell and read without bias or preconceived notions, those stories can teach us a little more about ourselves.
I definitely appreciate why Mirna documents her journey in her blog, Fat Girl Running. I am glad that I read her story because it made me think about how my early life has conditioned me to identify and view accomplishments.
I will say that each day, I feel complete and successful when I go to bed and I can look back over the entire day and say, yes, I did many positive things. I hope that each day, I make someone else feel better for having been around me. Well, at least, I do not want to make anyone feel worse. Everyday cannot produce endless rainbows.
How do you acknowledge your accomplishments?
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