[A Red Panda]

Y'know, as much as I can get into my own funk about things, I like to try to focus on positive stuff. As this is my most common piece of advice to others as it works well for me, I figured I may as well open it up. So I decided that I would start a thread as a challenge to everyone:

List 10 things that you have accomplished in your life that you are proud of yourself for. Then list off 10 little goals to work towards that you can be proud of later!

I get that this might take a while to complete, so take your time. Really think about it and find some things that you're proud of!
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And because I lead by example, here's mine!

10 Things I'm Proud Of:
1. I moved to England without having anything planned in advance, on my own.
2. When I ate at a restaurant solo the first time (sushi in Toronto!)
3. When I first went to the movie theatre solo (Alice in Wonderland in Cardiff)
4. The fact that I can and will wear skirts and dresses without being uncomfortable.
5. Running the Talent Show at the school I teach at.
6. That I actually managed to get myself to go to the GP for meds, the pdoc for diagnosis, and to therapy.
7. Moving to the middle of no where because for work.
8. Taking the cat with me when I moved out of my aunt's house
9. Cutting off contact from my younger brother.
10. For having days regularly where I'm happyish with how I look!

10 Goals For Myself To Make Me Happy:
1. Go to a climbing wall.
2. Go to a spa.
3. Get running again!
4. Finish painting my flat
5. Attempt to find a soup that I might actually enjoy
6. Get up the guts to go to the gym.
7. Go on an actual date someday.
8. Have a HAPPY birthday, not a mediocre or horrible one.
9. Save up money to get a house.
10. Learn to like living here.

As you can see, a lot of my goals are going to take me AGES to complete! Others might not.

[grey_]

Yes, it does take time...
for now i'm writing these down... may come up with more later...

10 Things I Am Proud of:

1. I have accepted my parents shortcomings and now have been able to begin helping my mother, in ways she wasn’t fortunate enough to receive
2. My love and care for people and love and passion for helping people
3. My ability to pay attention to detail
4. My persistence and perseverance, when I set my mind up to something
5. Forcing myself into social situations, it’s a lot of work, but I do make myself go
6. I have my own principles
7. I give myself time for myself (though sometimes I think I over analyze, and ponder and wallow in my depression and frustration more because of that)
8. I am a good listener (? I think)
9. My confidence that I will overcome or learn how to handle my issues efficiently
10. My ability to see the meaning behind most situations, the good, positive impact and ultimate benefits in them

10 Goals Of Mine:

1. Talk to people without blushing when they are talking directly to me
2. Learn how to take criticism
3. Learn how to accept compliments
4. Stop withdrawing myself, cutting off all connection for days and weeks at a stretch
5. Channel my negative energies into something more positive and constructive each day
6. To be more confident and learn to genuinely love myself
7. Give time to my appearance, take better care of how I look, carry myself
8. Learn how to keep in touch with people, attain the social knowhow eventually
9. To stop letting this mental and emotional turmoil interfere with my efficiency in my career
10. To complete my post graduation and start working in a few years

[Leah123]

Thanks for posting this. I need a diversion from anxiety.

1. I have just started my junior year of college after a long absence. In about 18 months, I should have my bachelor's!!! It's been a LONG time coming.

2. I am asking for help more from my husband, in-laws, therapist.

3. I am holding down a time consuming job.

4. I am making time for walks, naps, other self-care.

5. I am doing concrete things to sleep better.

6. I am improving my parenting.

7. I am being (brutally) honest with myself.

8. I am being brave in therapy.

9. I am helping out friends in need.

10. I am losing weight, eating better in general.

[A Red Panda]

Those are great things to be proud of And great goals grey!

[grey_]

Thank you A Red Panda !
(btw interesting signature, an intriguing poem- "the walrus and the carpenter")

[-jimi-]

1. I wrote a bunch of novels even if they are not published.
2. My cats are uberly friendly and socialized, even the evil one. Everyone is impressed by my cats.
3. I've been very far north.
4. I'm good at languages, especially English.
5. I run my own support site since 2002.
6. I'm so cheap I can own a small property on my lame income.
7. I can kill for food.

Yah... I can't come up with more.

1. Want to be published.
2. Want to write more music and do something with it.
3. Want to have a pony.
4. Want to travel to Scotland.
5. Want to really fix up my garden.
6. Want to fix up my apartment.
7. Want to lose weight.

[Confused213]

Proud:
-Of getting decent scholarships that are paying for college
- of having my own art in a local shop
-of being a musician
-that I'm strong enough to stand for what I believe in
-that I've moved beyond my past (I think)
-of doing useful things in my free time
-of being a reliable friend
-of scoring in the top 5% nationally (I'm running out of things to be proud of)
- I can't think of any more
- still nothing

10 goals:
-be more focused in prayer
-be more empathetic to struggles that I find "petty"
-be less easily annoyed
-be less selfish
-be less in my head
-truly be involved in the present
-learn to love who God has made you to be
-make straight As in college this semester
-journal daily along with having quiet times
-keep better track of time

[tealBumblebee]

10 Things I'm Proud Of:
1. Cutting my hair, and not stressing over what people would think or regretting it.
2. Being a good big sister/cousin.
3. Being as kind and considerate as I know how to be.
4. Complete honesty in therapy.
5. The fact that i've dressed up (cute clothes, hair, make up) 4 days in a row.
6. Making a 92 and a 98 on my tests last week.
7. Not cutting.
8. Responsible eating habits lately.
9. Reaching out to my mother for one last try.
10. Positive thinking for the past few days.

10 Goals For Myself To Make Me Happy:
1. Work on my take away for the week from therapy - negating suicidal thoughts with more positive ones.
2. Join a gym when I get my finances squared away.
3. Finish my grad school application.
4. Clean/vacuum my room; wash my covers.
5. Try to pray.
6. Make more hair bows/sell at stand for the fall.
7. ---
8. ---
9. ---
10. ---

[Poppy Princess]

1. My writings.
2. My drawings.
3. My taste in movies? (not so sure if that counts)
4. My taste in books? (same thing)

Darn, thought I could make it to at least seven.

[A Red Panda]

Keep thinking about it Poppy. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to really think of the things that we're proud of.

Think about things involving friends/family/work/school/fears/self-image... anything at all. If you're proud of it, then yay! There's likely a lot more, but it's so easy to overlook things. Are you proud of seeking help for yourself with therapy? Are you proud of opening up to people on PC? Are you proud of yourself for caring deeply about others even when you're feeling poorly about yourself?

Take a few days to think of things. They'll show up in your mind eventually!

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by Poppy Princess

3. My taste in movies? (not so sure if that counts)
4. My taste in books? (same thing)

how can good aesthetic taste not count?

[gracez]

Proud:

1. eating 2 meals a day all week
2. getting out of bed to walk dogs where i'm housesitting even though i want to stay in bed
3. saying something encouraging to myself about it (I rarely say encouraging things to myself) like the dogs are so grateful, you're getting exercise, you got out of bed
4. advocating for myself for 8 months to get services for help w/ severe depression & something actually coming thru today. it couldn't have happened without me continously trying and advocating for myself. no one else did that. i made it happen despite the long time coming and pathetic services for poor people in my city
5. continuing to be part of PC and reach out to people a bit here. it's been my only support. most things i've stop doing, and i haven't stopped using PC.

Goals:

1. to keep walking the dogs this week and keep encouraging myself when i do

can't think of any others now. i generally feel without hope or enjoyment, so its difficult to develop goals

[htebsiL radnalaS]

1. I am proud of organizing my home at long last.
2. I am proud of doing good practice with shifting my perspective to more light.
3. I am proud of feeling content and peaceful in the midst of unresolved issues.
4. I am proud of the beautiful pillow I designed with my boyz pics all over.
5. I am proud of riding my bike to the park.
6. I am proud of my flattening tummy.
7. I am proud of having conquered my fears of the unknown with taking the bus and bike riding and walking to the grocery with a cart.
8. I am proud of feeling pride in myself and not needing bf's praise.
9. I am proud of how much Baby Cali allows me to pet her. And I am proud of how much all 4 of them (feral cats) trust me.
10. I am proud of the steps I'm taking to get to Africa.

Realistic GOALS this week:
1. Begin passport process.
2. Shred
3. Clear out one box.
4. Decide if I'm giving away or selling clothes.
5. Continue collecting for garage sale.
6. Update Craigslist ads for chests and other stuff...
7. Decide if another $500+ from selling privately is worth headache: hoping car makes it to smog test station and will it pass and test fees (how much$?)
- OR -
do I avoid potential breakdown / smog headache and just sell to junk collectors for $500+ less (still getting $1k as is)
8. Renew gym membership (thanx tealbumblebee for reminding me)
9. Deal with ATT. again!

Thanks to Red Panda for starting this thread! Definitely helps me strengthen the positive energy that is always around/in me ... just waiting for me to take notice!

[Grey Matter]

I am proud of
1. Being a mental health advocate.
2. Therefore becoming a journalist for a mental health only magazine.
3. Being a caregiver for so many years, and doing the job properly.
4. My taste in music.
5. How I am as an older sibling.
6. The amount of books I read for self education.
7. My writing.
8. That one time I stood up to my abuser.
9. The first time I drove around after the horrid car wreck I was in.
10. My ability to figure things out quickly and efficiently.

Ten Goals
1. Figure out what is going on with me medically so I can then look into assistance.
2. Either get back into uni and dorm or move in with my cousin.
3. Clean my room everyday and don't let it become a resemblance of my mind.
4. Tell my mom when I am not emotionally available.
5. Accept that I am not a social butterfly, and there is nothing wrong with that.
6. Figure out what romantic love even is and why people crave it so greatly.
7. Start playing the guitar again.
8. Write more. As in every day.
9. Start taking nightly walks.
10. Leave my room more.

[Webgoji]

This is TOUGH:

Things I'm Proud Of:
1. It took 6 years, but I got my engineering degree.
2. I've started and completed writing two books.
3. Uh ...
4. I stepped in and help raise my daughter (technically step-daughter) when her biological father just ran off.

Small Goals:
1. Um ...
Okay, my goals are really, really small. Each chapter I finish writing in my next book is one goal. Finish a chapter, reward myself with some Oreo cookies. Finish another chapter, reward myself with some more Oreo cookies.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by Webgoji

This is TOUGH:

Things I'm Proud Of:
1. It took 6 years, but I got my engineering degree.
2. I've started and completed writing two books.
3. Uh ...
4. I stepped in and help raise my daughter (technically step-daughter) when her biological father just ran off.

Small Goals:
1. Um ...
Okay, my goals are really, really small. Each chapter I finish writing in my next book is one goal. Finish a chapter, reward myself with some Oreo cookies. Finish another chapter, reward myself with some more Oreo cookies.

I would not call writing a WHOLE chapter a REALLY REALLY SMALL goal. A WHOLE chapter - not a paragraph or two, but a WHOLE chapter!

[A Red Panda]

Goji - those aren't small things.

And even if they WERE - so what? No one said big goals. It's the small goals, and the small things that we're proud of, that add up over time. Big goals usually take a long time to work towards, and the really HUGE accomplishments? Well, those just don't happen frequently.

But there's usually loads of little goals that we work towards, and tons of small things that we're proud of and just don't consider.

For example:

The other day some friends and I went to a cafe with a lot of board games. A goal for me was to ACTUALLY try to win at a game (I typically try to lose when I am with competitive people), and to NOT freak out over playing a game I hadn't played before (I have a hard time learning new things in front of people because I flip out over making mistakes).

And guess what? I met that goal.

And I won the game! I was quite proud of it.

Those sorts of things can easily count when we're making lists like this. It does not have to be big things, it's just a list of things we have been proud of and goals we want to work towards because they help give us focus and they help to remind us that we're better people than we think we are!

[LavenderFruitNinja]

Things I'm Proud Of:
1. Improving slightly in my writing ability.
2. The fact that people actually like my singing.
3. I can actually draw cartoon-styled humans now, albeit badly.
4. I didn't have an anxiety attack at the last huge party I had to go to.
5. I can read really quickly.
6. I can mimic cats, dogs, and crows.
7. I've had a really long friendship with one of the sweetest people I know and she's not sick of me yet. (I think)
8. A book of poetry by me and my friend is going to be published sometime this year.
9. I actually asked my mom if I could go to therapy, though I chickened out for a while at first.
10. I bought two things I really wanted after I got up the nerve to ask my mom if I could get them.

Goals:
1. Don't freak out every time someone talks to me.
2. Actually finish one of the stories I've been writing.
3. Stop procrastinating and actually get things done.
4. Wake up before 9am for a week. (I usually can't get up before 11 or 12.)
5. Learn to care more about schoolwork.
6. Interact more with society though I don't want to.
7. Curb my dependence on technology.
8. Go outside at least once a day and get some Vitamin D.
9. Try to escape some delusions I've dropped myself into.
10. Try to get over my fear of spiders and bees.

[Webgoji]

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

I would not call writing a WHOLE chapter a REALLY REALLY SMALL goal. A WHOLE chapter - not a paragraph or two, but a WHOLE chapter!

For me it's actually a small goal. During National Novel Writing Month a few years ago I burned through a 60,000 word novella in 2 weeks (about 1 1/2 chapters a day).

I don't intend on sounding like I'm bragging so I apologize if it sounds that way. I write using a method called Dramatica Theory which sets up my story structure in such a way that once I have the book planned, the first draft is easy.

It's the 10+ rewrites that take forever ...

[A Red Panda]

Goji!!!

I can pump out 50k in a week for Nanowrimo! haha. I'm a champ. Quality? Horrible, but I just run with my ideas. Didn't finish last year's novel though... hit 50k in a week but the rest of the month got really busy. Not sure if I am going to participate this year or not.

I would totally put "Taking the time and effort to rewrite my first drafts" as something to be proud of. I HATEEEEEE editing and thus far haven't done a lick of it. I applaud your dedication!

[Webgoji]

Originally Posted by A Red Panda

Goji!!!

I can pump out 50k in a week for Nanowrimo! haha. I'm a champ. Quality? Horrible, but I just run with my ideas. Didn't finish last year's novel though... hit 50k in a week but the rest of the month got really busy. Not sure if I am going to participate this year or not.

I would totally put "Taking the time and effort to rewrite my first drafts" as something to be proud of. I HATEEEEEE editing and thus far haven't done a lick of it. I applaud your dedication!

Holy Cow! 50K in one week!?

Editing is the toughest part of writing. Especially since after the second rewrite, you've memorized your book and start missing things because you think you know what you wrote and read it as what you wanted to write.


You really should participate this year. Tell ya what, I was working on trying to publish my book last year so I couldn't participate. If you do, I'll write my Kansas Tales (at modern Canterbury Tales) for NaNo.

Deal?

[A Red Panda]

Yeah 50k in a week. I'm a champ (I'm also a quick typist and I get rather hyped up with nano sooo my thinking process is also super fast)......

I just didn't know what I was going to write. I need to finish the last one before I can write the next one (it's a series). We'll keep in touch and when it gets closer to November I'll know if my class has me too worn out or not!