The sense of accomplishment is a wonderful feeling. And the great thing about it, you can experience it at multiple levels, from big life events and feats that take months or years to complete to everyday occurrences.

What I want to focus on today are life’s small tasks and acts that still give you that empowering sense of accomplishment. These events may not require the same level of work or commitment as the larger accomplishments, but the feeling you get is still one to be relished.

1. Parallel parking on the first try. Oh man, I’m so awful at parallel parking that any time that I don’t have to repeatedly pull forward and back to get into the spot is a huge accomplishment.
2. Putting together furniture. I know there are directions and IKEA furniture is not supposed to be all that difficult to assemble, but after the hours that it inevitably ends up taking, it feels so good to stare at the finished piece!
3. Checking off everything on a to-do list. How amazing does it feel to not only get to cross something off your to-do list, but to finish every task or errand that you planned for yourself in a day?!
4. Finishing a book. While sometimes it’s hard to get to the end of a book and say goodbye to the characters you’ve become attached to, it feels good to close the cover for the last time.
5. Getting your email inbox down to a reasonable number. I’m someone who constantly lets my email inbox to get upwards of 5,000 emails. I may open an email, but then I don’t delete it or categorize it, it just sits there. The few times that I’ve actually gone through and sorted or deleted each email to get that number down to the hundreds has made me feel so much more organized and on top of things.
6. Trying a new recipe and having it come out amazing. There’s always that slight risk of trying a new recipe, whether you’re cooking a meal or baking a dessert, that you fail miserably and end up with something inedible. So to have a new recipe turn out to be delicious is quite an achievement.
7. Sticking to what’s only on a grocery list. A grocery store can be a minefield of tempting treats and when you’re trying to eat healthy, it can be hard to resist all the delicious, but unhealthy foods. Any time that I can get in and out and only get the foods on my list, I leave feeling very proud.
8. Improving your workout. Whether it’s beating my time, upping my reps, nailing a new yoga pose, or using heavier weights, it feels so good to workout a little harder than the time before.
9. Laundry. Seriously any time I do my laundry I feel incredibly accomplished after. It’s just one of those things.
10. Bolusing perfectly for a complicated meal. This past weekend I went out for pizza and then after, went to a birthday party where I indulged in cake and ice cream. The whole time I kept expecting my blood sugar to spike, but to my surprise and Isuppose credit, my blood sugar stayed stable and in range! It was such an awesome surprise and made me feel so good about my carb counting and bolusing that night.
    

    I love when it stays between the lines