I have noticed that it is not very common for me to feel completely happy with what I achieve. That there always seems to be one thing that I demand better of myself in. Whilst striving for better is always something good, there comes a point where you also have to recognise and acknowledge what you have got. Be proud of yourself for what you have achieved even if the result was not entirely what you were aiming for.

When I achieve almost anything I hear the voice in my head that I should have done better in something, which means that most of the time I am never fully content with what I have managed. Since this has happened so frequently, I have realised that the way I am looking at things probably is not the best. That it isn't me not being good enough almost every time, but rather the standards I am holding myself to. Really, the reason I am never fully happy with my accomplishments, is that I set excessively high standards on myself that no one else expects. There are many times where I will have done well and everyone else can seem to see it apart from me.

After being faced with the feeling of not having done well enough a lot - from my teenage years through to adulthood, I am realising the importance of being proud of what you do achieve. Even if it is not what you were originally aiming for, you still did it. That is not something that everyone can say.

Ultimately in life things very rarely play out the way you expect them to. Achievements are no different. Holding yourself to the vision of how you thought you would achieve something, or the original expectation, is not always helpful because there is so much more that happens in between. There are ideals and then there is reality; whilst you have a right to feel disappointed in yourself if you did not get what you were aiming for, an achievement is still an achievement. Still something to be proud of even if the result is not quite what you wanted.