Hey. You. I Have Homework for You.

Honestly,

Hey.

You.

Yes, you.

The one reading this who might need a reminder today about how great you actually are.

I have homework for you.

And before you roll your eyes at me, I'm only assigning it because I've already done it myself.

And it worked.

Here's the thing.

Sometimes it's really easy to forget how far you've come.

It's easy to remember the mistake.

The project that didn't go the way you wanted.

The job you didn't get.

The conversation you wish you'd handled differently.

The thing you still haven't figured out.

We are remarkably good at keeping receipts for our shortcomings.

But somewhere along the way, most of us forgot to keep the other receipts.

So I did something.

I went back through several years of my performance reviews.

And before you picture me sitting at the kitchen table with seventeen highlighters, color-coding adjectives and creating some elaborate personal-development spreadsheet—absolutely not.

I threw the reviews into Copilot.

I asked it to pull out the words and themes other people consistently used to describe me.

That's it.

Then I made a word map from the results.

Not what I hoped people thought about me.

Not what I put in the little summary section of my résumé.

Actual words other people had used, repeatedly, to describe what I brought to the table.

And then I printed it.

Because there are days when I need to see it.

There are days when confidence comes easily.

And there are days when your brain conveniently forgets every hard thing you've survived, every problem you've solved, every person you've helped and every room you've earned your way into.

On those days, I don't necessarily need a pep talk.

Sometimes I need evidence.

So now it's your turn.

Go find the evidence.

Pull out your old performance reviews.

Find the email somebody sent after you helped them through something difficult.

Look at the LinkedIn recommendation you haven't read in three years.

Find the note from the boss who told you that you made a difference.

The text from the friend who reminded you what kind of person you are.

The thank-you note.

The award nomination.

The feedback from a project.

Whatever you've got.

Start collecting the words other people have used to describe you.

And if you have several years of reviews, please don't make this harder than it needs to be.

Drop them into whatever AI tool you're comfortable using and ask:

“What words and themes consistently show up in the way other people describe my strengths and the value I bring?”

Then look at what comes back.

You might be surprised by the person other people have been seeing all along.

Make something out of it.

A word map.

A list.

A note on your phone.

A ridiculous poster you print at Walgreens.

I don't care.

Just put it somewhere you can find it.

Because you will have days when you forget.

We all do.

And when that happens, I want you to have something more substantial than someone telling you to believe in yourself.

I want you to have the receipts.

Proof that you've been growing even when you didn't notice.

Proof that you've made an impact.

Proof that the version of yourself you're doubting today has already done some pretty remarkable things.

And here's the most important part:

Read it when you don't believe it.

Especially then.

Your value doesn't disappear just because you're having trouble seeing it.

Sometimes you just need to remind yourself where you left the evidence.

So that's your homework.

And I'm not accepting “the dog ate it.”

It's 2026.

Your dog does not have access to your Copilot account.

Now go find your receipts.