Journal For Celebrating Achievements - The Hidden Power of Celebrating Your Achievements

https://lestallion.com/collections/journal-notebook-for-celebrating-achievements

Ever find yourself checking off accomplishments only to immediately race toward the next goal without a moment's pause? You're not alone. This deep dive explores the transformative power of deliberately acknowledging our achievements—from major milestones to seemingly insignificant daily wins—and how this simple practice can fundamentally reshape our motivation, confidence, and sense of progress.

Drawing inspiration from thoughtfully designed journals like those from Lestallion, we examine why celebration is far more than just a feel-good moment. The science is compelling: when we document our successes, we trigger dopamine release that creates positive feedback loops in our brains. Yet psychological barriers like imposter syndrome and negativity bias, combined with society's emphasis on monumental achievements, often prevent us from recognizing our own growth.

Through real-world examples—like the burned-out professional who never feels successful despite excellent performance, or the language learner who transforms her experience by tracking mini-victories instead of fixating on distant fluency—we see how structured celebration changes everything. The practice creates tangible evidence of progress, makes large goals less daunting by highlighting the small steps along the way, and builds a personal archive of growth that provides confidence during challenging times.

What might you discover about yourself if you paused to acknowledge what you've already accomplished? What patterns and strengths would emerge if you made documenting your progress a regular practice? Try taking a moment today to celebrate a win you might normally brush past—you might be surprised how this simple act can shift your entire perspective.

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LeStallion offers premium PU leather journal notebooks for writing, dedicated to all those who are pursuing their dreams and goals, or nurturing their personal development and mental health.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Deep Dive.
Today we're tackling somethingthat sounds pretty simple, but I
think it often gets overlooked.
It's the power of actually youknow, acknowledging and
celebrating our achievements,Big ones, small ones, all of
them.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Yeah, it's so easy to just tick a box and move right
on to the next thing, isn't it?
Without really letting the windsink in.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Exactly so.
We want to explore why hittingpause, why recognizing that
progress actually really matters.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
And it's interesting.
We've been looking at someperspectives on this,
particularly drawing fromLestallion.
You know the folks who makethose journals.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Right, the ones designed specifically for this
kind of thing.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Exactly.
Their whole approach kind ofhighlights the benefits of
actively recognizing what we getdone.
It's a common human thing todownplay wins, but they focus on
why that's maybe not the bestapproach.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Absolutely so.
Our goal today, our mission, ifyou like, is to understand why
this celebration thing is wellmore than just feeling good for
a moment.
We want to get into the realbenefits, for you know our
growth, both personally andmaybe professionally too, and
look at how certain tools, likethose listallion journals, can
help make this a regular habit.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
And they are nicely designed for it.
I mean, they're not just blankpages.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
No, definitely not.
They feel quite premiumactually.
You get what is it?
211 numbered pages.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, numbered pages and that table of contents right
at the front, which issurprisingly useful.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Totally and the paper is that smooth 120 GSM stuff it
feels substantial.
It's like they've set it up tobe this dedicated space for
building that success story,honoring your own journey.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
A proper record.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, so okay, let's start right there.
Why is journaling specificallysuch a powerful way to celebrate
achievements?
What's going on there?

Speaker 2 (01:48):
Well, I think what's fascinating is that it's more
than just like jotting thingsdown.
It becomes, this focusedpractice, almost meditative.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
A time you set aside for self-reflection, and doing
that consistently really boostsyour self-awareness when you
actually write down what you'vedone.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
You're making it concrete.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Exactly, you're reinforcing a positive mindset
and there's some science heretoo.
Down what you've done, you'remaking it concrete.
Exactly, you're reinforcing apositive mindset and there's
some science here too, you know,acknowledging success can
trigger dopamine release.
Ah the, brain chemistry RightCreates that little positive
feedback loop makes you want torepeat the behavior.
Plus, the act of writing itdown helps you track progress
over time, which gives you realperspective.
And it naturally buildsgratitude because you're

(02:24):
shifting focus to what you'vedone, not just what's still left
to do.
That makes sense.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Away from the endless to-do list yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
And all of that, the reflection, the gratitude.
It leads to better mentalclarity.
It reinforces your sense ofself-worth, your confidence.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
Right, right, you're making those abstract feelings
of I did okay into somethingmore solid.
And it's not just about, like,the massive project completion,
is it?

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Oh, definitely not.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
I was chatting with a friend.
She started this little onlinecraft business Super talented,
okay, but in the beginning shewas just obsessed with hitting
some huge sales number, so everytime she'd get like two or
three orders.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
She felt it wasn't enough.
Totally yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
She'd immediately feel like she was failing
somehow.
It wasn't until she startedkind of deliberately noting the
smaller wins.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
Like what.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
Oh, you know, someone leaving a really nice comment
on her Instagram, or a customersaying they loved her packaging,
even just figuring out sometricky shipping thing that had
been bugging her.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Ah, the little problem-solving victories yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
When she started writing those down, her whole
attitude shifted.
Her enthusiasm really picked up.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
That's a perfect example.
Documenting those seeminglyminor things is incredibly
powerful.
It really fosters thatgoal-oriented mindset you need.
Each little entry, eachacknowledgement.
It keeps the motivation hummingalong, whether it's personal
stuff or work projects.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Right.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
And that's where you know the design of a journal
like Lestallion's can be quitehelpful, having those lined
pages, or grid pages if youprefer.
Is the structure Exactly Helpsyou organize those thoughts.
See the journey clearly.
It's not just a random scribble.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
Okay.
So if we know it's beneficial,we know recording even small
wins helps, why do so many of usjust not do it?
Why do we just keep chargingahead?

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Well, there are a few reasons, and they often overlap
.
I think One big one is justthat relentless drive for the
next goal.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
The what's next syndrome.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Pretty much.
You achieve something and boom,your focus immediately snaps to
the next challenge on thehorizon.
We often don't actuallyschedule time for that
reflection, do we?

Speaker 1 (04:32):
No, it feels like a luxury sometimes.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
It does.
Our lives are busy.
It feels like a constant rush.
Then you've got things likeimposter syndrome.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Ah, yes, that old chestnut.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Very real for a lot of people Feeling like your
success is down to luck ortiming, not your own skills or
effort.
Psychologists also talk aboutthe negativity bias we just tend
to remember and focus on thebad stuff more than the good.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
Unfortunately true.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
And, let's face it, society tends to hype up the
huge, monumental achievements,right.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
Which make us feel like our smaller everyday wins
don't really count for much.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
Right, Like unless you cured a disease or climbed
Mount Everest did it even happen.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Kind of yeah, which is silly, because those small
wins are the building blocks.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
Totally so.
How does having a dedicatedjournal notebook, like the
Lestallion ones we mentionedspecifically, help push back
against these tendencies?
How does it help us notoverlook our progress?

Speaker 2 (05:24):
I think the key thing is that it creates that space,
it carves out time and aphysical place purely for
celebration and reflection.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
It makes it intentional.

Speaker 2 (05:34):
Exactly.
It actively counters thatfeeling that achievements are
just, you know, fleeting orunimportant.
By making the effort to writeit down, you turn these abstract
successes into actual, tangibleproof of your growth.
Evidence Evidence yeah, andthis practice.
It naturally encourages bettergoal setting too.
When you regularly noteachievements, you often start

(05:56):
seeing how bigger goals breakdown into smaller steps.

Speaker 1 (05:58):
Makes them less daunting.

Speaker 2 (05:59):
Much less daunting and over time that journal
becomes this amazing personalarchive right, A record of your
development, Super valuable whenyou look back, maybe at the end
of the year or something.

Speaker 1 (06:09):
A year in review just for you.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, and maybe the most important bit is it gives
you that visual proof of successSeeing the pages fill up.
That's a powerful boost forconfidence and motivation.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
I can really see that Having that physical record.
It makes me think of a friendof mine.
Let's call him Liam.
Super talented guy, really goodat his job, okay, gets great
feedback, consistently deliversgood work.
But he always just brushed itoff finish a huge project and
immediately start stressingabout the next deadline.

(06:44):
Never seemed to take a momentto actually acknowledge what he
just pulled off.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
Hmm, sounds familiar.

Speaker 1 (06:49):
Yeah, and it got to the point where he was just
feeling constantly stressed,kind of burnt out and like he
wasn't really making an impact,even though objectively he was.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
That's so common.
Without that structured pausefor acknowledgement, even
self-acknowledgement, it's easyto feel like you're just running
on a hamster wheel.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
Totally Leads to burnout, feeling undervalued.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yeah, and it chips away at your sense of your own
ability, even when the evidencesays otherwise.

Speaker 1 (07:10):
Right On a slightly different note my sister.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
She started learning.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
Spanish a while back, oh cool yeah.
But initially she was onlyfocused on the big goal, being
fluent, which felt miles away,obviously.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Very intimidating.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
So after every lesson , if she wasn't suddenly having
deep philosophical conversations, she'd feel really discouraged,
like I'm getting nowhere.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
Right.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
But then she started using just a simple notebook
actually to track the littlethings like OK, today I learned
these 10 new verbs, or hey, Iunderstood that line in the
movie without subtitle.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Ah, the small breakthroughs.

Speaker 1 (07:47):
Exactly, or even just feeling a tiny bit less
terrified trying to order coffee.
Once she started noting thosedown, she suddenly saw all this
progress.
She'd been completely missingbefore.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
That's brilliant.

Speaker 1 (07:59):
It totally changed her motivation.
She wasn't just sloggingtowards some distant peak, she
was actually enjoying the climb,celebrating the little
footholds along the way.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
That perfectly illustrates it, doesn't it?
Acknowledging those incrementalsteps creates that positive
feedback loop.
Each entry becomes a littlereminder look, you are moving
forward.
Makes the whole thing feel lessoverwhelming and more rewarding
.

Speaker 1 (08:22):
Yeah, and this really brings us back to why the
specific features of a journallike Lestallion's are actually
pretty relevant here.
For someone like Liam, myfriend, who was burning out,
imagine if you'd been using oneWith the numbered pages, the
table of contents.

Speaker 2 (08:39):
He could easily flip back.

Speaker 1 (08:40):
Exactly.
Look back at project Xcompleted positive client
feedback received.
Milestone Y achieved.
It would have been much harderfor him to dismiss his own work
when he had that documentedhistory right there easily
accessible.

Speaker 2 (08:52):
Absolutely.
That structure makes reviewpossible and for your sister
learning Spanish, the line pageswould give her that clear space
to list her new vocab, jot downphrases she used successfully.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
Right Keeps it organized.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
And that physical act of writing it down in a
dedicated spot, especially maybea nice journal, that feels a
bit special, like the liststallion ones.
It reinforces the idea thatthese small wins are significant
.

Speaker 1 (09:18):
It elevates the act itself.

Speaker 2 (09:20):
It does.
The quality signals that thispractice of self-reflection is
valuable.
It's worth doing properly.

Speaker 1 (09:26):
And there was that story about Emily too, right
From the source materialsuccessful marketing
professional but plagued byimposter syndrome.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, that's right Doing well on paper but inside
feeling like a fraud.
Her mentor apparently suggestedshe use a Lestallian journal
specifically to track daily wins.

Speaker 1 (09:43):
No matter how small.

Speaker 2 (09:44):
Exactly, and the results were pretty significant,
weren't they?
Within about six months.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
She felt a real shift .

Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah, the journal apparently had some goal setting
pumps.
It pushed her to activelyacknowledge those little daily
achievements and then, lookingback over the year, she could
actually see her growth track it.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
Tangible proof again.

Speaker 2 (10:02):
Precisely that structured practice directly
helped combat the imposterfeelings and gave her
self-belief a serious boost.

Speaker 1 (10:09):
It really shows how a simple tool, used consistently,
can make a difference.
So, ok, let's sort of wrap thisup.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:17):
The key takeaway seems to be that using a
dedicated journal forcelebrating achievements it's
not just a nice to have, it'sactually a really powerful tool
for personal growth.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
I'd agree with that.
It helps build that crucialself-awareness.
It fosters resilience, becauseyou're reminding yourself of
what you can do.

Speaker 1 (10:36):
Right, focusing on strengths.

Speaker 2 (10:37):
And it keeps motivation going by showing you
the progress you're making stepby step.
And yeah, a well-designedjournal like the Lestallion,
with those thoughtful features,numbered pages, TOC good paper.
It really supports making thatpractice effective and maybe
more enjoyable too.

Speaker 1 (10:52):
It provides the system.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
It provides a tangible system, yeah, for
tracking progress, activelybuilding gratitude for your
successes and pushing backagainst that natural tendency.
We have to just look at what'snext or what went wrong.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
So maybe a final thought for everyone listening
as you go through your day oryour week, just pause for a
second and think about theachievements big or maybe really
small that you might normallyjust brush past.
What would it actually feellike to give them a moment, to
acknowledge them properly?
And what might you discoverabout yourself, about your
journey, if you made documentingthat progress a regular thing?

Speaker 2 (11:26):
Yeah, what patterns might emerge, what strengths
might you see more clearly?

Speaker 1 (11:31):
Exactly, definitely something worth exploring, I
think.