The Essence of Achievement

He resigned from the National Academy of Sciences and turned down honorary degrees from Columbia and the University of Chicago. He accepted his Nobel Prize for his work on quantum electrodynamics. But Richard Feynman’s viewpoint, expressed in a radio interview, was, “I don’t like honors. The real prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out.”

I’m with Richard on this one. While some people enjoy filling their shelves with trophies, medals, certificates and other awards for recognition, others are content with or prefer not to have attention brought to them in this manner.

There are many ways in which people can feel that they have achieved something – whether it’s a personal or professional accomplishment. For me I feel a sense of achievement when:

• I’ve completed a task or reached a goal I have set for myself.
• I am content or happy at the end of “the thing”.
• I have made an impact on others; I can see or sense a feeling of gratitude, happiness or love from another because of something that I’ve done or contributed to.
• I do not feel like something has been left undone or is needing attention.
• I am being responsible and accountable, even if things aren’t going quite as planned.
• I am delivering quality in my efforts, in my work – whatever the deliverables may be.
• I am living well – fiscally, physically and psychologically/emotionally.

Awards and honors can be nice, they certainly aren’t a bad thing. Some people need concrete things, things one can hold onto to reassure them of their achievements – written evaluations, certificates, bonuses. Some need to write lists and check things off as evidence of their achievements. Others measure their achievements by quantity or rank – what their job titles are, the balance of their bank accounts, how long they’ve been married or been with a company. I don’t think these measures, however, are always a good way to assess achievement; sometimes, I think they more aptly reflect one’s perseverance than their achievements. We can fool ourselves into thinking we’ve accomplished more than we really have when we only look at things from a quantitative perspective.

Self-assessing can be difficult for some but it’s a very useful skill. I choose to assess my achievements based on whether I or others can see values like quality, happiness, gratitude, love, accountability, determination and completeness in whatever I’m doing or in whatever the final outcome is.

What brings you a sense of achievement?