I’m sure you – like the rest of us – have a list of the things you want to do. We all have a list like that at some points in our life. Sometimes it’s not even written down – a mental list is as good as the hardcopy. Whatever it is the list feels like our gateway to feel like a different person – a better, different person.
Because the mindset today is not like the mindset of the yesteryears, a lot of people we know seem to have done something worth writing a book about. You would know someone who have scaled Everest Base Camp. Your cousin’s roommate could speak French, German, and Arabic. You heard from someone that knows someone who have backpacked the not only the whole of Europe but did a road trip across America. How could you, a dowdy, degree holder who couldn’t even play the recorder properly, measure up?
Heck, back then having a Masters degree was a Wow thing – nowadays it’s merely a continuation from your 4 years of studying. When I was a teenager I considered knowing how to play guitar or piano properly a terrific achievement, but now probably every jane, dick and mary knows their guitar chords and their piano keys. All at the age of 10.
Im telling you, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel totally short. Nowadays, it’s not just enough that you could score As and be good in sports, you have to be able to have something else, an edge to make you stand out. And most of these achievements are either expensive or time consuming. And sometimes, both. And more often than not we feel useless because most of the people we know seem to have a generic list of Things To Achieve, which totally programmed our brains to think that if we didn’t do that, then we haven’t achieved anything.
Before you ever feel like you haven’t done anything, take a step back and relax. Achievements, like so many things, are a state of mind. I know it’s easier to compare against a proved and known set of goals, but that doesn’t mean having something else is not something achievement worthy. I realized this two years back when I just crossed off one thing in my list. That year after school finished, everybody set on to break their Achievement list. I went backpacking across europe, another friend climbed Mt Kinabalu, another learned French, another took a scuba diving package. We all came back dying to share stories and pat ourselves on the back. How cool we all sounded, really! Another friend, though, while we were away doing our things, spent the whole break still in the same town, same state. She took up C++. She worked in a coffee shop. And got herself a totally different haircut – a blunt sharp chin length bob. And she was equally proud of herself like the rest of us, just as excited and puffed up over her achievements. And her confidence over them made me see for the first time, or maybe it just didn’t add up then: it’s not really about the things you do, it’s how you feel doing them. Anything could be an achievement, no matter how trivial it may be to the rest of the world. You just have to really enjoy it.
To be honest, I’m proud of the things I’ve done so far. Half of the things I’ve done are in everybody’s To-Do List, which makes me proud, especially when I could be of help. But I’m actually proud of the little things too. Like, the fact that I worked in boutique. Cat’s Whiskers to be exact. I have no idea why, but I do. Maybe I just like doing odd jobs. Also, I pride on the fact that I have done a bit of this and a bit of that, and working in a boutique has always been something I’ve wanted to experience. I got a lot of stories cooked up from my days sorting the bracelets and putting clothes back on rack, not to mention the people that came in the shop.
Another great achievement of mine was learning how to use the chopsticks. It’s a minor thing right? Not to me. I was adamant on teaching myself to to operate one, because all of my friends knew how to and I felt so left out in high school, until university. So for one whole semester in my third year, I ordered only Fried Keuy Teow for dinner and forced myself to use the disposable chopsticks. And even until today I catch myself feeling a simmer of pride when I handle rice and whatever you put on my plate with chopsticks. And I could use them with both hands! Tee hee.
Another thing was learning to swim freestyle. I still remember the day, it was a Thursday. My friend helped me with the basics and I practiced and practiced until I was no longer breathing in water. I’m still proud of it, every single time I swim, and whenever old uncles tell me that I have a good form and stroke. I was like, No classes, baby!
I could go on, but I bet you guys don’t want to hear them. I’ve proved my point, I think. It’s easy to feel like you’ve not done enough in a sea of published authors, boutique owners, or medallists, but won’t you feel much much better if the achievements come from the things only you could appreciate? It’s like your own tiny thing – your one confidence booster than no one else can, or want, to do.
Adios fuckers.
