Looking Back Ten Years: What Have You Achieved And Who Are You Now?
Let's pause and ask: what have you achieved in ten years, this year, and this month? Reflect on growth, impact, and choices. Then set clear outcomes for what comes next ... What have you achieved, Amidst the chaos of life? A moment of peace! You rarely stop to look back with intent, yet this is where the best goals begin, so start by asking yourself a simple question: what have you achieved, and who have you become in the process? If you leave this until December, you know how it goes - life rushes in, the tinsel comes out, and reflection gets squeezed between end-of-year deadlines and mince pies. You deserve better than a rushed review. You deserve a clear-eyed look at how far you've come, and an intentional plan for where you'll go next!You know the principle: always see the outcome you want before you start. That clarity is only possible when you anchor yourself to evidence from your journey. Over ten years, patterns emerge. Decisions compound. Confidence grows by doing ... not by waiting. When you ask yourself what you have achieved across a decade, you surface the arc of your story - skills gained, risks taken, relationships built, and moments where you surprised yourself!You might notice you're doing work now that a younger you would have thought was beyond reach. Maybe you've changed sectors, started a side business, earned a promotion, or navigated redundancy and rebuilt stronger. Perhaps you found your voice in meetings, mentored others, or delivered outcomes that moved the needle for your organisation. Comparing then to now, you can see how capability and self-trust have expanded. That's not luck; that's accumulated evidence of effort aligned with values. Zoom in on the last year and make it concrete!Where were you brilliant? If you struggle to answer, look for signals: projects delivered, feedback received, problems you solved that nobody else spotted. Ask colleagues and friends; they'll often remember wins you underplay. Then ask yourself again, more precisely: what have you achieved that actually mattered - to yourself, your community, family, or clients? The impact lens stops you from mistaking busyness for progress. Of course, you'll have had missteps too. Good. Name what didn't work and what you don't want to repeat. That could be overcommitting, tolerating unclear expectations, or staying silent when clarity was needed. Extract the lesson and design a different default. If a habit, meeting, or metric isn't serving you, retire it. Make space for work that moves you towards a defined outcome.Gratitude isn't fluffy; it tunes your attention. List what you're grateful for and notice what went well that you want to repeat. Maybe it was a weekly thinking hour, a better way to prepare for presentations, or a walk that kept your energy steady. If it helped, systemise it. If it drained you, redesign it. The goal is a tight loop: notice, learn, apply. Now take it even closer: the last month!Ask the uncomfortable, yet liberating question: What have I avoided doing? The email you've drafted three times, but still haven't sent. The decision you've deferred until “next month” Avoidance hides leverage. Bring one avoided action to the top, put time in the diary, and get it done. Momentum follows clarity. As you gather these reflections, articulate them in plain language so they guide future choices. When you can answer what you have achieved this month, this year, and this decade, you are better placed to choose the right next step rather than the loudest or most convenient one. This is how you set goals that actually mean something: not abstract wishes, but outcomes with a why, a how, and a when!If you want to make this richer, do it with others. Share your decade highlights over coffee with colleagues or friends. Ask each other specific questions like where you grew most, which risk paid off, and what you would never do again. Patterns will surface that you can't see alone. You'll likely discover that someone else's 'ordinary' behaviour is your missing strategy - and vice versa. Be sure to track not only outputs, but also identity shifts. You may have become the person who speaks first rather than last, who manages up with confidence, who says no to work that doesn't fit, who mentors emerging talent, or who quantifies impact rather than reporting activity. When you look at what you've achieved through the lens of who you've become, you strengthen the foundation for bolder moves. Money is a useful proxy for value, but not the whole picture!If your salary has climbed, connect it to the capability that drove it. If it hasn't moved as you expected, connect that to a plan for a promotion, job move or - if you're in business - better market positioning. Numbers inform strategy; they don't define worth. As you look forward, lock in the mindset that keeps you on course. Always know the desired outcome before starting any piece of work, conversation, or project, no matter how small. Translate your reflections into a few precise outcomes for the next twelve months, and define the first steps you'll take this week. If your past decade taught you anything, it's that tiny, consistent actions accumulate into meaningful change!When doubt creeps in - and it will - use your evidence. Remind yourself with specifics: what have you achieved that shows you can do hard things, learn fast, and adapt? Highlight the instances where you finished imperfectly but made rapid improvements. Hold onto the moments you made a positive difference for someone else; impact is the deepest motivator. You are not starting from scratch. You are starting from data. Stand on your decade, refine from your year, act on your month. Then ask, with curiosity and courage, what have you achieved? And what outcome will you create next? Until next time ...
DAVE CORDLE 07941 690 391 www.davecordle.co.uk
/ www.linkedin.com/in/davecordle
Everything you need for your career: www.davecordle.co.uk/basecamp
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