A few weeks ago, I wrote about gratitude journaling – the practice of writing down things you’re grateful for each night. Today, I’d like to offer an additional practice you can combine with gratitude journaling: pride journaling.
Pride journaling is, you guessed it, writing down things you’re proud of yourself for. I typically record one or two things I’m proud of myself for doing at the end of each gratitude journal entry. Here are some examples:
I’m proud of myself for lifting weights today and for going to yoga yesterday.
I’m proud of myself for getting my chores done this week, despite being very busy and very tired.
I’m proud of myself for trying to be outgoing at the concert last night.
I’m proud of the work that I do.
I’m proud of myself for avoiding sugar for the past two months.
I’m proud of who I’ve become through consistent self-care.
One important thing to notice is that most of these entries express pride in the exercise of willpower. There is a toxic belief that pops up all too often in the minds of most people, myself included: I just don’t have the willpower. This thought, if you believe it, kills your motivation, so it is critical that you have arguments and evidence at the ready to disprove it. The practice of pride journaling actively works to counteract this insidious belief. How can you believe that you have no willpower if there are dozens of journal entries testifying to the fact that you do?
Another important thing to notice about these entries is that they’re mostly process-focused rather than outcome-focused. True, the last entry speaks of an outcome – who I’ve become – but it explains that outcome through the process of consistent self-care. Really, it says that I’m proud of myself for putting in the work that led to the outcome.
There’s nothing wrong with being proud of a good outcome or an achievement, as long as you don’t forget how you got there. The important mindset-shift is that you don’t have to wait until you reach a goal to pat yourself on the back for your efforts. In fact, you’ll be much more likely to make it to your goal if you encourage yourself along the way by expressing pride in your hard work. Doing so inspires persistence and helps you keep your eyes on the process.
Pride journaling is also helpful for cultivating independent self-esteem because you’re giving yourself approval rather than seeking outside approval. And it helps increase your self-efficacy because, when you remind yourself of your own efforts, you’re reminding yourself that you can make those efforts. Pride journaling, therefore, helps you self-identify as a dedicated, effective person.
With all that in mind, the question I’ll leave you with is:
What efforts are you proud of today?