Last week, I spent a few days in Washington, DC. Over those days, I had the chance to ride with some pretty neat Uber and cab drivers. One driver and I talked about how I grew up around corn fields and livestock. He told me, “If you ever come out here, you’ll miss that.” Another driver of mine talked about his love of American history and why he loves Washington, DC.
However, there was one driver whose question caught me off guard. As we started to talk about our days, he asked me, “What did you accomplish today?” I was more used to the “How was your day?” and the “What are you doing in DC?” questions and wasn’t prepared with an answer. I thought to myself, “Ya know, I’ve done a lot of running around and talking today, but have I accomplished anything?”.
As I continued with my week, that question weighed heavily on my mind. I was constantly thinking back to that conversation with my cab driver. Was I just going through the motions of life? Have I been running around like a madwoman, or actually achieving my goals and tasks for the week?
It’s now been a week since that conversation, and before I go to bed each night, I have started to challenge myself to think of at least one thing that I accomplished that day. Some days, I've only accomplished small things. Others, big things. But regardless of the size of the accomplishment, my attitude towards the day has been changed at the end of the day because of that reflection. I could have had the worst day ever, BUT something was accomplished and the day did not go to waste (even if it felt like it).
As college students enter finals week, teachers near the end of the school year, and people just become busier and busier; I encourage you to finish each day by asking yourself what the cab driver asked me. I promise you something good will come out of it.
