What have you done today to make you feel proud?

I am constantly inspired by the words of Heather Small’s “Proud” – some of the uplifting lyrics in it include:

“Look into the window of my mind
Reflections of the fears I know I’ve left behind”

“I’m on my way
Can’t stop me now
And you can do the same”

“You could be so many people
If you make that break for freedom”

“I step out of the ordinary
I can feel my soul ascending”

“So what have you done today to make you feel proud?”

Each day I ask myself that question, and I use a personal checklist based on the letters of the word “PROUD”.  You can download a copy of the form I’ve used, at the end of this article.

Performed: What positive actions did I take today?  What did I do well?  What opportunities did I grasp?
Obviously you don’t want to list absolutely everything, but you should record the most important things you did well. It can be very useful to go back from time to time and remind yourself just how much you can achieve when you’re firing on all cylinders.  I’m always quite shocked at just how ‘learned’ some of my MBA work seems to me now – was that really me who had such a clear grasp of the subject matter?
On the other hand if you find yourself struggling to find at least one entry for this section, it’s time to give yourself a shake and refocus on your goals.

Review & Remedy: what could have gone better?  What’s stopping me achieving?  What help do I need?
You shouldn’t beat yourself up too much if you’ve had a bad day, and there’s loads of things you can put in here.  Remember that you can change what’s going wrong – maybe straight away, maybe only after you’ve found the help you need.  Like the good things you’ve done, don’t overload yourself with the small stuff – highlight one or two things that will make a real difference if you can resolve them.  Even taking the time to review and to take notice of what’s not working is a step in the right direction, so long as it’s done with a view to finding a remedy.
We can all improve on something we’re doing (or not doing) so it will be a rare day when you can’t find anything at all to go in this box.  (When you have such a day, just enter a big exclamation mark and go out and celebrate!)

Objectives – and progress towards them.  The things that went well today – what objectives did they bring me closer to?
It’s important to make sure that the positive stuff you’re doing, opportunities you’re grabbing, problems you’re fixing, are all helping you move closer to one of your goals.  Something that seems like a great opportunity right now might be taking you up a blind alley for your future.  Of course, you shouldn’t be afraid to change your objectives, if really good new opportunities take you in an unexpected direction – just be sure the new ones are as solid as the ones you’re replacing.  See a clear horizon.

Understanding – what did I learn today?  What finally fell into place?  What interesting articles or books did I read?  What philosophical discussions did I have – online or in the real world?
This picks up on more lines from “Proud”: “Still so many answers I don’t know/ Realise that to question is how we grow”  If you aren’t constantly seeking to increase your understanding – of your business, your customers, your profession or expertise, of those close to you – then you will stop growing.  And anything that is no longer growing is starting to die.

Do next – what actions am I going to take, and when?  What needs to be done as a result of today’s performance, disappointments, achievements and learnings?
“If you make the break for freedom” – Just knowing what needs to happen won’t get you there, you have to take action.  And put a date on it – a list of stuff to do without dates when you plan to do it is just a wish-list.  Add dates and it becomes an action plan.  And keep the dates realistic, don’t go overloading yourself – I think it was Anthony Robbins who said people tend to overestimate what they can achieve in a year (but underestimate what they can achieve in a lifetime).

Here’s an example of my form for the beginning of last week – it doesn’t need to be detailed – the intention isn’t to spend an age writing in great detail on all the things I learn each day, just to spend some time reflecting on how well I’ve done, where I can improve, and how well I’m staying on track.  To access a copy you can download, just click on the image.

What daily reviews do you do to keep yourself on track?