When managing to achieve a personal goal in life or obtaining success after a great deal of hard work, it's always worth documenting and then preserving it. This can be for personal pride, but also as a way of remembering that special day for many years to come. It can also act as inspiration for others and to show them what can be accomplished by practice, effort and determination.
Reasons to record and then frame your greatest achievements
This is something I regret not doing back in the day when I managed to score my first one hundred break playing snooker. I fell in love with this sport at the age of twelve when my father first took me to the local snooker club. I will always remember the first time I entered the club. The twelve-foot tables looked so big to me at that age. I was taken aback by the buzz of the place and by the number of people who were playing. The club had sixteen tables, all of which were being played on. We had to wait an hour for a table to become available.
Over the next few years, I became a regular at the club and massively enjoyed playing. I soon started to improve and would enter local tournaments to test myself against other players. Even though I dreamed about becoming a professional snooker player, my main goal was to make a one-hundred break.
At the age of 18, I was once again at the snooker club playing a friendly match with my best friend (Kevin). I was in the zone, playing well, and during one frame, I had reached a break of 65 and was still going. People from other tables stopped playing their matches to come and watch as they anticipated that a large break was on the cards. To score a one-hundred break is quite rare in this, the most amateur environment. So much so that I had never witnessed one, and I guess it was the same for these players, hence why they stopped to watch. Having these people stop and watch just added to the pressure, but I was in the zone and felt like I couldn't miss. I ended up clearing the table for a break of 110. A week later, I did it again with a break of 114!
The first time was the one that meant the most, by far. Looking back, I wish I had documented my achievement. But this was way before the smartphone, and I didn't have a camera to hand. It would have been fantastic to have taken a photo of the snooker table, and one of Kevin standing by my side with the snooker cues in our hands. I could have preserved these photos by placing them in a picture frame with a caption to include the time and date. Yes, I have the memories, but having those photos would have been amazing as well.
I wasn't able to document my triumph, but these days people very much are, as the smartphone means we always have a camera to hand, or at least someone will have. Be sure to take the time to record your success, as you'll likely regret it if you don't.