What's In An Accomplishment?

I have always been about accomplishing. Not the formal kind of accomplishments that deserve a trophy or plaque - although those are nice too - but the kind of accomplishment that makes you feel good about your day. The nice thing about these kinds of accomplishments is that it doesn't matter how small they are. As long as it is significant to you, it matters. Perhaps this is why I'm a huge list-maker. I do like emptying everything out of my brain onto a piece of paper - this makes my mind less accountable for forgetting something! But, what I like the most is crossing off each task. Each one is a tiny accomplishment.

The best part about these little milestones throughout your day is they often aren't planned. When my kids were newborns (and heck, sometimes even now) taking a shower was my accomplishment of the day! Today, for instance, I'm considering my accomplishment that I was out with my kids playing with friends and being active at the museum and they watched very little TV. That's an accomplishment.

The bigger (although not always better) accomplishments do take a little planning. Exhibit A: I want to be able to pay for my kids college tuition without them having to take out student loans like my parents did for my sister and I. That's a huge accomplishment that takes years of planning. Personally, I want to be in a position of doing something I love for a living. And that will most likely take a series of accomplishment (big and small) to come to fruition.

For now, I'm satisfied with accomplishments of the smaller variety - my two year-old taking a nap, good bargain shopping at the grocery store, getting an interview for a job. The things that are seemingly small, but make up a bright day and a bright future for my biggest accomplishments of all - my family.