If you have a big goal, especially with a clear endpoint, it’s easy to understand when you’ve achieved it. But most of our aspirations require time, and their final stage is ephemeral. To succeed, it’s important to think not only about long-term goals but also about the actions you take every day to get closer to them. Therefore, it would be useful to learn about methods that help evaluate each day and understand if you’re growing.
1. Ask yourself, “Does today matter?”
Perhaps today you spent a lot of time contemplating your to-do list and checking your calendar. Maybe you read an endless stream of emails and text messages from friends. And in the end, you allowed yourself to relax a bit after work, spending a couple of hours watching a TV series. At the end of the day, ask yourself: did it matter? If yes, then great, you can continue in the same vein. But if you can’t recall anything special, enjoyable, useful, or heartwarming, then think about what you could change to make a difference and ensure that your day is meaningful and contributes to your personal growth.
2. Define success at the beginning of the day or the night before
Spend a few minutes in the evening reflecting on the results you would like to see by the end of the next day, or you can delve into contemplation in the morning if you have the time and mood. Don’t forget about prioritization when thinking about goals and success. Of course, you would like to make significant progress in everything you set out to do, but it’s likely to be impossible. So it’s worth determining what is most important to you in the upcoming day, as well as what is realistically achievable. Making this decision brings special benefits. When you learn to define daily success, you automatically focus on the most important task and proudly answer “Yes!” to the question “Does today matter?” So consider it a “two-in-one” benefit.
3. Create new metrics
We can use metrics without even realizing it. For example, when we check off a box on the calendar, indicating that we took a daily medication or completed another useful task that requires regular repetition. So, to make it easier for you to track not only important tasks but also your path to success and personal growth, it’s worth using this method. Utilizing visual indicators is an excellent way to stay informed about all aspects of your life and evaluate each day. This method is particularly useful for those whose success involves acquiring new habits and behavior patterns. For instance, you may have promised yourself that starting next month, you’ll do breathing exercises every day. Mark the days when you stick to your new endeavor, preferably on a wall or desk calendar that’s easy to keep in sight. Your new habit will correlate with a simple metric: one marked day equals one small victory and step toward self-improvement. Another advantage of metrics is that they easily guide you back on track if you accidentally stray. Even if you’ve missed a few days of exercises, it’s easy to start over and find your way back to the desired habit.
4. Analyze your energy level
Surely you’ve noticed how inspired, strong, and energetic you become when you feel you’re heading in the right direction and striving towards important goals. To understand if you’re growing as a person, it’s essential not only to track your progress using metrics or charts but also to analyze how you feel. Start a notebook, write down the tasks you need to accomplish during the day, and draw circles of different colors next to them: green when you have plenty of energy, yellow if it’s less but enough, red in case of a significant drop. This approach, albeit seeming strange, works. By analyzing which tasks drain your energy the most and which reignite it, you can adjust your approach to tasks and understand if there’s progress and meaning in them. For example, when you first start exercising, you’ll mark gym visit days with a red circle. The new endeavor will drain not only physical but also mental energy as you’ll need to adjust to a new schedule, diet, and a habit that wasn’t previously characteristic of you. But after some time, you’ll notice that you’re involuntarily marking the task of going to the gym with a yellow circle, and then green. However, if it remains red for an extended period and no energy is added, it’s important to ask yourself: maybe I’m doing something wrong? The issue could lie in motivation, workout plan, stress, or disappointment with results. In this case, it’s important to try to make changes that will help you progress and ignite the energy to not give up and reach your goal.
5. Evaluate your days and analyze the results
Open your favorite notebook and briefly list the activities you dedicated your day to, then rate how it turned out using this scale: 0 – bad day; 1 – not so good; 2 – okay; 3 – good; 4 – fantastic, want more of these. Repeat the procedure the next day, marking the appropriate number for it. Why do this? Firstly, this practice helps identify which activities give you the feeling of a fantastic day and focus on them. At the same time, you’ll realize what ruins your days and what needs to be adjusted to prevent it. Additionally, by compiling a list of ratings for a month, you’ll be able to conduct a comprehensive and profound analysis of your life and understand if you’re growing as a person. After all, if fantastic or good days outnumber the bad ones, then you’re definitely striving to make your life better and succeeding in doing so.
6. Keep track of happy moments
If you’re not inclined to write lengthy entries in a diary or evaluate your days, but still don’t mind quick and beneficial writing practice, use this method. Ask yourself: how many times during the day did I feel happy and at what moments did this feeling arise? Write them down, succinctly if you prefer, as brevity is the soul of wit. Then reflect on what you could do or are already doing to experience pleasure more often.
