What is an Accomplishment?

What have you accomplished in your lifetime?

Take a moment and make a list for yourself.

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So, what made the cut? What was on your list?

• Was it going to college?
• A past job?
• A financial milestone?
• Marriage? Kids?
• Buying a home?

I’m pretty sure all of your accomplishments fall into either of these two categories:

1. They were the product of your efforts (I created this) or
2. They represent a coveted milestone (I have reached this)

The first 3 or 4 “accomplishments” on my list came to me pretty quickly. Then I hit a wall and couldn’t really come up with more. I started thinking about just what is an accomplishment and decided to try to define it.

Here’s the definition I came up with:

Accomplishments are the stories told about your past desires that became reality.

So past desires like, “I want to be smart” or “I want to be secure” were represented by “I went to this college” or “I’ve reached this financial milestone” on my accomplishment list.

The new definition also got my brain going again.

I rattled off another 10 items immediately without too much effort. Looking at the expanded list, I saw a couple of accomplishments that surprised me.

Instead of things related to college, career, or the American Dream, I started to list out accomplishments like:

• I’ve maintained strong relationships with several people I’ve known since high school
• I’ve read 100+ books
• I’ve traveled to every continent except Antartica

These are the stories I also want to tell about what I’ve done. They matter just as much as the other accomplishments. When I look back over my life, these accomplishments help craft a fuller picture of what I wanted in my past that became my reality.

Given the new definition, what else made it onto your list of accomplishments?