Self Recognition

We're so quick to point out flaws, silly things we've done and cling onto memories of mistakes we've made but how often do you pat yourself on the back and applaud an achievement- big or small? How often do you tell yourself, 'you've done amazing, well done!'? I'm going to guess, it's not as often as it should be! We get so caught up in the strive to improve or to reach our goal that the small steps are often overlooked. I want to dedicate today's post to the things I've done recently that I'm proud of, and I hope it inspires you to do the same!

1. Interrailing- you may be aware that my trip didn't quite go to plan but I'm so proud of the things I did achieve on the trip and the confidence and excitement it gave me for booking new trips. I won't detail all the things I'm proud of regarding this here but I discussed it in this post if you want to hear more.
2. Sorrento- booking a holiday so last minute and having it all run pretty smoothly is a great achievement. I didn't wallow (too much), feeling down about the places I'd missed on the interrail trip, I got a replacement booked and made it happen!
3. Getting the subway- not something I would voluntarily do, I'd rather exhaust all other transport options first but I did it whilst away and even though it made me very uneasy, it was alright! I got on with it, didn't think about what I had to do and just got where I needed to be. It's still not my first choice of transport, nor is it anywhere near the top of the list but, I know I can do it if and when I have to!

4. Doing a full workout in the gym at rush hour- I never used to feel comfortable in the gym at all, let alone when it's crazy busy and thankfully, I've avoided those times and find myself not worrying too much... until the other day when there were people everywhere I looked and all I wanted to do was to disappear and hide. With no music to block people out, my mum and I did a decent workout together and for the most part, I managed to ignore the people around me or at least push them to the back of my mind. That's not something I would have been able to do a few years ago!
5. Balancing aspects of my life- as guilty as I feel about not doing enough of something, be it being at uni, being at home, working... whatever, I've actually started to realise I have a pretty good balance going on. Although I don't have uni to contend with at the moment, generally I manage to balance the aspects and see people as much as I can even if it doesn't always feel that way (please remember this Steph so you don't work yourself up in the future).
6. Running a blog and YouTube channel on top of everything else in life- it may not always seem much of a job but if people can do it as a full time career, there must be a decent amount of work to go into it and there is... a time consuming, sometimes stressful project, especially when life gets busy and uni and work take priority but you know what, I manage to keep it going (even if I miss an upload or two). I may not upload the most frequently or have the biggest following but I do pretty darn well to keep both going to as high a standard as I can at this stage and love the support I get from those around me virtually and physically.

7. Climbing the hill in Budapest on my own- I'm not the most confident person when it comes to heights and although I love the likes of Go Ape and activities with a harness, most heights send my head in a spin (literally; it just doesn't seem to agree with my body). Side note: I do love winter sports despite the fear so maybe I just need adrenalin and a distraction to ease my mind! Whilst I tend to give things a go where possible, sometimes things are very out of my comfort zone and require peer encouragement, so the fact I climbed up the hill (sorry, I have no idea what 'the hill' is called) to see the statue and the view of the city on my own is amazing! A small achievement but deserving of my own recognition.
8. Beating my own gym targets- I love those moments when I lift a heavier weight, do more reps, hold something for longer or beat my time... any of these however small the difference may be, prove to both myself and others what I can do. I like having the opportunity to get competitive with myself (and mum when appropriate) to challenge myself more and give me the motivation to go that bit further. Most recently, I beat my 5km cycle time which I never thought I'd manage (8m38s for anyone wondering and so I can remember for next time!)!

9. Work placement at the Nottingham Post- I learnt so much there and enjoyed experiencing the workroom, shadowing journalists and seeing the things I've learnt come to life. It's also the home of my first shared by-line, which I'm very pleased about.
10. Living a fairly healthy lifestyle- for the most part, I'm fairly active, I eat healthily, I drink a lot of water, I don't drink alcohol much and generally, I look after my health. Of course, I have unhealthy or less healthy things sometimes and don't always stick to a gym routine but I try my best and where possible, I do a lot to look after my body and in turn, look after my health.

I hope this has been a nice positive post and a reminder to give yourself credit where credit's due. Big or small, there are so many achievements to be proud of. I would love to see you create a 'self-recognition' list of your own or at least, leave a comment with something you've done recently that you're proud of. I'd love to spread the positivity and share the positive experience with as many of you as possible! If you do do a post then let me know as I'd love to check it out!

Just to let you know, I uploaded a video yesterday all about my moving out experience and the challenge it posed including, my tips and advice for dealing with homesickness/emotional struggles regarding moving out. If you want to hear about that or think it might help you, you can find my YouTube channel here or can watch the video down below!

If you enjoyed this post and want to see more from me, you can follow my social media links in the top right-hand corner to see when I next upload. Thank you for reading this post!

Love, Steph x