Where does a sense of accomplishment come from?
Is it doing a certain thing, feeling a certain way, a mix of the two or something else?
Upon returning from hiking to Base Camp One on Everest (and no hiking there isn’t the accomplishment I’m going to talk about), many people would tell me they couldn’t do what I did.
Whilst there are many people for physical or mental health reasons that couldn’t do that hike, there were many able people saying they couldn’t when what they are saying is they wouldn’t.
I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I do something I’m not sure I could do.
Something that thing isn’t easy.
Something that takes practice or effort or knowledge. Something that requires me to work towards it.
Hiking base camp was one of those things, just as was sitting through a ten-day meditation, as was passing Biochemistry subjects for my Nutrition studies. They aren’t easy things and because they aren’t easy many of us choose to say we couldn’t when in fact it is that we wouldn’t. We are saying we don’t want to put in the effort or even investigate what is required.
Often when we break something big down it is achievable. Most likely someone has done it before and they did so, not because they have some hidden superpower, but because they put in the effort.
IT IS NOT THE TASK ALONE THAT HOLDS A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT BUT WHAT WE OVERCOME WITHIN OURSELVES.
For example, someone who has to go through physiotherapy to walk again would feel immense accomplishment for a simple, stumbled walk.
We are immensely capable beings.
If we decide it is a priority and put in the effort to work towards it, we can achieve incredible things that we didn’t think possible. In doing those things we feel immense pride, accomplishment and fulfilment.