Achievement

I've been thinking a lot about the idea of achievement as I've entered the final quartile of my life. As a culture we praise and reward people when they reach a certain level of mastery or expertise in various areas of human endeavor. We value hard work, talent and determination in reaching a level of performance unmatched by most others.

What's been running through my mind recently is whether "achievement " is a valid measure of human growth and progress. By that I mean if you just lined everyone up and said go, you'd have 8 billion people at 8 different "achievement" levels. We all have a certain amount of ability, intellect, talent, drive, opportunity, encouragement, etc. What if what we call "achievement " is merely the result of a combination of factors over which we have no control? What if potential us exactly what happens and we all reach it?

Our genetics, our education, our family history, our experiences, our beliefs, our breakfast all combine to make us who we are at any given moment. The fact that our various cultures and societies have decided to promote a few of us to "hero status" and "cultural icons" seems random, even unremarkable.

I understand that our ancestors placed value on strength, power, courage, cunning, physical prowess and even "beauty". These, at first, were survival traits. One's status in the group was based largely on one's contribution to the group's sustainability, security and basic needs. So seeing the value of those abilities passed on through the ages makes sense. Even though few of us are directly responsible for any of these things any more.

However, as time went on we began to include and celebrate things like the ability to entertain, throw a ball, earn money, out eat others, etc. as important "achievements". Now, if you're able to "influence" others to think, say and do  things, stupid or not, that's an "achievement." 

I realize it would take an entirely different paradigm and way of thinking for us to reevaluate how we define our "achievements."

I would offer some of these. 

Recognize and accept our own motivations, fears and aspirations. What do I want/don't want and what do I need/don't need?

Learn to turn judgment/evaluation of ourselves and others into curiosity and understanding. "Why and how" are more important and revealing than "who and what."

Use our self-awareness as a means to combat greed and ego-driven self-aggrandizement.

Question our knowledge base and belief systems and value learning and inquiry as a path to truth and wisdom.

Practice managing our emotional responses like anger, resentment, jealousy, disappointment, etc. and seek to express and share responses like grief, joy, satisfaction, etc. 

Consider that feeling good and/or proud of something one thinks, says or does isn't an "achievement," but simply a personality trait, and isn't it fortunate and satisfying one possesses it?

Fight self-doubt, self-recrimination and other forms of neurosis that only lead to self-loathing and isolation.