Importance of Recognizing Your Own Achievements

It was during this coaching session that it hit me hard.

This lady, 50 years old, crying all her tears, because she had given everything to her family, husband, children for the last 20 years. And now that she wanted to change career, there was no one to back her up. No one to say: hey don’t worry, I will pay your bills until you are back on your feet. No one also at her job to recognize all the good work she had done and pay her accordingly. She was feeling miserable with very low self-esteem.

What is her worth is nobody is recognizing it? How can she have the strength to move forward?

Reflecting on this later, I realized it was not the first time I was facing it.

I vividly remembered 2 colleagues retiring yet feeling totally unrecognized for their 20+ years of work. I had told them: no one can give you the recognition you are craving for because only you know everything you have accomplished in all areas of your life.

Yet, what about me? Was I immune to the lack of recognition from others? Unfortunately, No. I had been there too. Many times. Way too many times.

But that was my wake up call. I had absolutely no intention of waking up one day feeling angry and sour on everything I had done without a proper recognition from others. That was the end of it. I was no longer expecting a recognition from anyone because I was about to give myself the recognition I deserve.

I wrote down so many lines of what I had accomplished and was proud of in my career, personal life, finances, etc. It was difficult at the beginning. The pen was not moving. But then I kept writing down. Even few days later. It was so empowering. I knew what I desperately wanted to hear. And I could tell it to myself.

Since then I feel in complete peace and aligned with myself. I do what needs to be done and I trust myself to do it well. But I longer hope for external recognition. I actually don’t need it because I know I did a good job and I did my job. On the other hand, in case of criticism, I can right away spot it and differentiate it from genuine feedback and make sure it does not hurt me.

If I could travel back in time, this lesson would be in the top 3 of what I would share with my younger self. I would tell myself to find all the recognition I need within me and increase my self-esteem and motivation to accomplish the impossible.

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