Are You Proud?

Do you want your accomplishments to be recognized and praised? Does it bug you when you put your heart into a project and no one seems to care? Guess what? You're not the only one who thinks this way. I answered "yes" to both questions. When I become involved with a project, I put my whole heart into it. Knowing I did my best makes me feel good, but having other people see what I see makes my accomplishment 100 times better. However, throughout life, I have come to realize that others will not always see my accomplishments the way I see them.

The past few years have been some of my most successful years thus far. I was blessed with the opportunities to graduate from college twice, received a Top Debut Paper award at a national conference, had the pleasure of teaching students (and received outstanding evaluations), and was accepted into my doctoral program of choice. Do you think the majority of people in my life were happy for me? Theoretically, the answer would be yes. Realistically, the answer is no. Instead of being proud of my accomplishments, most people have tried to drag me down and attempted to convince me that everything I've done is worthless.

I used to put great stock into what others thought of my accomplishments. When they didn't see them the way I did, it killed me internally (figuratively speaking, of course). It took a huge toll on my self-esteem, which made the recovery time longer than it should have been. Now, I have learned to see this differently. When this situation happens, I remind myself of a few things: 1) Most people will never fully understand what I accomplished because they're not typical accomplishments; 2) some will discredit my accomplishments because they don't place importance on them like I do; 3) others may be intimidated and try to bring me down to their level; or 4) people may simply not care at all. After I remind myself of the things I mentioned above, I remind myself that it is okay to be proud of what I've accomplished. Not everyone may understand, but I do. If someone doesn't understand, then that's not my issue. All I am concerned with is what I do and what it means to me.

At the end of the day, I want you to look back at your accomplishments thus far. Are you proud of what you've accomplished and how far you've come? I hope so. What you've done is unique because it cannot be duplicated. Your accomplishments are authentic and should mean something to you. Even if no one else gets it, that's okay. As long as you go to bed proud each night, then you have much to be thankful for in life.