There was a period when I lost businesses, was struggling financially, experienced burnout, and my confidence was gone. One thing helped me restore it.
During that time I didn’t feel like someone who’d built anything. Someone who could lead and impact people.
I felt like someone who was failing.
I started to read my so-called Victory Journal, that I’d been writing for some time:
- Personal values and promises I kept
- Relationships I saved or developed
- New skills I’d mastered
- Businesses I’d grown
- Projects I’d built from scratch
- Small improvements that ended up mattering far more than I thought
- A conflict with a business partner or a colleague I’d actually resolved
- Objectives I’d achieved that I’d already forgotten I’d set
- Things I’d avoided for months and then finally acted on
- Impact I’d had on the lives of my loved ones and the people I worked with.
None of it felt real while I was living it. It just felt like getting through the week.
But reading it back, it was real. I could do things. I had done them well. The current moment just didn’t allow me to see that.
Why it matters
Memory isn’t neutral, especially in the hard seasons.
You remember every failure in high definition. The evidence of your own competence starts disappearing right when you need it most.
Most leaders wait for the next big win to feel capable and confident again.
What actually matters is noticing the smaller things along the way — things you do well every day, however small.
All of us leaders have times when we doubt ourselves and lose confidence, no matter how experienced.
And without confidence, we cannot lead effectively.
The confidence to lead comes from many things — clarity on where you’re actually going in life and business, asking the right questions, recharging.
But it starts with identity: what you actually believe about yourself, and what that belief is rooted in. The Victory Journal has played a significant role there in my life.
Your action this week
1. Start your Victory Journal today, regardless of where you are right now
A note on your phone, a document, a notebook — the format doesn’t matter. What matters is starting before you need it. You won’t know the moment it becomes the only thing that gets you through a week.
2. Write down 3 to 5 things you did well this week
Big or small. A decision you made, a conflict you resolved, a person you helped, a thing you finally acted on after avoiding it for too long. Don’t filter for “impressive”, filter for “done well” and / or “done what’s right”.
3. If you’re already in a low point and never started — start today anyway
Documenting what you did well refocuses the mind on what’s actually true, instead of what the moment is telling you. Come back to it, on purpose, when you need it – a hard week, a hard month, whenever it comes. That’s exactly when it matters most.
What are a few things you did well this week — big or small — that you almost didn’t notice, or took for granted?
Cheers, Andrey Sergeyev
For short ideas on leading, living and scaling business with focus on what matters – follow me on Linkedin
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