Why accomplishment is important and 5 steps to build it.
As the Flourish Summer Sessions come to an end, and the crispness of autumn is in the air I wanted to share some thoughts about the power of accomplishment and why it's important for your sense of wellbeing.
Accomplishment is the last pillar of Seligman’s model of Flourishing, and whilst this connects with that sense of flow we’ve explored before, this is about that sense of achievement we have simply for doing something we enjoy; those activities we choose to pursue without any external motivation. This might be related to our work (if it's something we’d choose to do even if we weren't being paid to do it), our hobbies or sports.
This pursuit of success for its own sake is integral to who we are, and these are not always associated with what is meaningful to us or brings us positive emotion. They are the activities we choose to participate in which bring us a sense of satisfaction. It may be the pursuit of activities which seem purposeless or frivolous to others, but give you this wonderful sense of accomplishment. This is what Seligman called the “achieving life”, and whilst a life dedicated to accomplishment for its own sake alone is out of reach to most of us, creating space for activities which give us this sense of accomplishment is beneficial to our sense of wellbeing as it provides us with pleasure and positive emotion.
Our sense of accomplishment is supported by self-control and grit; grit can be defined as high passion for our long-term goals along with high persistence, that ability to just keep going. Both self-control and grit can be elusive to us, and whilst we have the best intentions, even those things which we enjoy or we know will best serve us will be sacrificed for other activities, perhaps what feels easier in the moment, especially when we are feeling low in terms of emotional resources or we’re drained.
The good news is that self-control and grit are muscles which can be strengthened with practice and consistency, and this in turn supports our pursuit of accomplishment. If we start practicing self-discipline with small activities which don’t challenge us too much, and keep going we can build this strength and start to apply it to more challenging aspects. In addition, it's important to remember that if we fail this isn’t a bad thing. It's an opportunity for learning and growth, and will make us stronger.
So how do you build this sense of accomplishment?
Identify what makes you feel accomplished.
Give yourself some time to honestly think about where you feel accomplished in life, you might be surprised. Try asking yourself the following questions:
What would you choose to do even if you didn’t have to?
What activities feel difficult to start, but feel like an achievement once they’re complete?
What activities would you like to feel accomplished in and why?
2. Identify the standard you want to achieve
You need to be really clear what accomplishment looks like, if what you aspire to is unclear or inconsistent then you’ll struggle to know what you need to do to get there.
What does success look like?
How will I know I’ve got there?
3. Monitor your progress
To keep yourself on track you need to know how you are moving towards your goal. This needs to be positive and supportive to you, allowing you to learn.
How can you break the goal down into smaller, achievable steps?
What does each milestone look like?
How will you know you’ve got there?
How will you celebrate each achievement?
4. Draw on your strengths & willpower
At times it might be difficult to pursue this sense of achievement, and it's important to think about what will support your self-discipline and when you may need to draw on your grit.
What might make it difficult?
What will support you (times, days, preparation)?
How can you practice and develop your grit to draw on when things get tough?
Which of your strengths support this?
5. Remind yourself of your motivation
It's important that you know why you’re pursuing this activity and why it will lead to a sense of accomplishment.
What will the impact be?
What will it feel like when you achieve this?
As always I’d love to hear where you find accomplishment, come and find me over on Instagram and let me know.
Alex x