Recognising your own accomplishments

comments 12
Thoughts

Accomplishments

In 2016 I watched 118 films. Ninety-seven totally new to me films and twenty-one films I’ve seen at least once before. Looking at these numbers, I personally didn’t see this as an accomplishment. But mentioning the numbers to friends or family, and their jaws drop.

From a different perspective I guess the accomplishment in watching this many films is in finding the time. It’s not hard when you’re finding time for something you’re passionate about. I’m not a film expert/critic/buff—but there’s something about films that I enjoy.

Perhaps I should see these numbers as an accomplishment—something to look back on and be proud of. It’s more films that I’ve seen in a year than I have in a long time. I’ve made the time to watch this ridiculous number of films as well as maintain some sort of life. (I have a tendency to be a hermit sometimes.)

I have a bad habit of not recognising when I’ve accomplished something—big or small—it takes someone else to show me. That shouldn’t be the case. I, and all of us, should see when we’ve done something to be proud of. Write it down or record it somewhere. I started using Letterboxd to keep a tally of all of the films I’ve seen. I love going back through my film diary and seeing what I saw over the past year.

We all need to remember to pat ourselves on the back every now and then. Recognise the accomplishments, whatever they may be. Even if it’s just watching a shit tonne of films.

PS. Here are my top 15 films that I saw in 2016 (because I couldn’t just pick 10):

Spotlight, The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Hateful Eight, The Big Short, Goodfellas, Midnight Special, The Lobster, Everybody Wants Some!, The Nice Guys, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Kubo and the Two Strings, Hell or High Water, The Little Prince.

12 Comments

  1. I think it’s definitely an accomplishment! I wonder how many movies I’ve watched in the last year? I started a private list on IMDB so I can keep track of what I see this year because I’m really interested now.

  2. Wow. Cool. And now we know a little more about you. *bridges fingers* M-Yesssss.

    It’s funny, I haven’t been in a good movie mood in a while. TV shows, yes. But movies, nah. It feels like such a committment. Hahahahhaa.

    TV shows are so deceptive though. “OH, let’s watch one more…” kind of thing.But it’s fun, getting lost in a good story.

    • TV shows are deceptive! Especially when you go back and count the hours you invested in a single TV show. I made the mistake of counting how many hours of TV and films I saw while Anish was away for a month… O_O

  3. Keith & the Movies

    WOW! That’s some serious movie watching. I love it. Also good to see so many great movies make your top 15. We definitely share a love for many of them. I especially happy to see Midnight Special on there. I think it is a film that many have simply forgot.

    • Midnight Special captured something in me. A beautiful film that I find pretty unforgettable.

      I’ve noticed since I’ve stopped forcing myself to watch 100 films in a year, as a challenge, I’ve actually started watching more films I genuinely want to watch and there’s more good stuff than bad.

    • Awesome, Amanda! If you ever share that list, let me know 🙂 And thanks for dropping by and commenting.

  4. I think we should all be proud of our accomplishments. I also think we should always strive for the next thing because there’s only one life and basking for too long on prior accomplishments can sometimes keep us from conquering others.
    The same thing happens to me when I share how many films I watch a year with family or friends (111 on 2016, 104 in 2015), but when compared to other bloggers or buffs, my number is miniscule. One day I hope I’m financially secure enough I could dedicate even more time to film watching. For now, I’m very happy to pass 100 every year.

    • That’s why I’ve come to learn that comparing myself to others isn’t a great idea. I should look at what I’ve achieved for myself and no one else. It is hard to not compare though.

      This may sound daft, but one of my dreams is to spend a whole day at the cinema, watching film after film. One day!

  5. moviesandsongs365

    118 is a good tally compared to most people. Hell or High Water was a film which surprised me in a good way, I didn’t have any expectations. Force Awakens wasn’t the most groundbreaking in terms of new ideas, but it was fun retro entertainment.
    As I get older, film/music/reading is about prioritizing. With rotten tomatoes and other sites it’s become easier to skip the not-so-good ones and focus on the quality.

    • I’ve been trying to watch more older films that I feel I should have seen by now. Seeing as it’s hard for me to see the “latest and greatest” as soon as they hit the big screen.

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