# What's your greatest achievement till now?



## konami (Aug 17, 2010)

They ask such questions in job interviews but I'm not asking for that...be honest, it doesn't have to be something related to career...what are you proud of?


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## catlauren (Aug 14, 2010)

Raising my 16 year old INFP son, who is growing into a kind, smart, creative, and deep thinking young man.

I've also had plenty of successes in my previous career as an accountant and manager, but they seem so unimportant to me know. So, I think another great of achievement of mine has been to summon up the courage to quit my old career and pursue a PhD in a completely different field (psychology) despite the fact that it will take me until I'm at least 50 to complete it.


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## konami (Aug 17, 2010)

catlauren said:


> Raising my 16 year old INFP son, who is growing into a kind, smart, creative, and deep thinking young man.
> 
> I've also had plenty of successes in my previous career as an accountant and manager, but they seem so unimportant to me know. So, I think another great of achievement of mine has been to summon up the courage to quit my old career and pursue a PhD in a completely different field (psychology) despite the fact that it will take me until I'm at least 50 to complete it.


Sometimes you set a goal and work hard to achive it or get it, but then you realize that it didn't worth all that effort or it was not that important.If you could go back knowing what you know today, what would you change?


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## catlauren (Aug 14, 2010)

konami said:


> Sometimes you set a goal and work hard to achive it or get it, but then you realize that it didn't worth all that effort or it was not that important.If you could go back knowing what you know today, what would you change?


That's a hard question to answer because I'm not sure what I would keep the same. I feel like I've become a completely different person in the last 4 or 5 years (it happened somewhere around that 40 year mark), with a completely different set of priorities. I think I would work just at hard at my goals, but my goals would have been completely different. I would have focused much more on people and much less on tasks. I would have trusted my instincts and walked away from challenges when they didn't make me happy instead of always feeling that I had to keep forging ahead according to the "plan". I really think my biggest accomplishment has been learning to trust my feelings/intuition, and to not be afraid to follow them wherever they lead me.


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## EYENTJ (Aug 21, 2010)

Mine is in the field of education.

I would say the obliteration of my limiting belief about math.

US students have a funny attitude towards math and math ability. The latter is seen in the same manner as IQ; immutable from birth. Even though I am Korean-American, I was not very good at all at math for the majority of my life. On the SAT's, my math score was a 660 (thankfully my Verbal dragged that up a lot). I was pretty much resigned to all things not quantitative.

Then I came to Korea to teach the SAT (Verbal only) and noticed dozens and dozens of students who scored lower than me in math, quickly gaining competence to the tune of a perfect 800 score on the math section. I had just read Outliers and Gladwell's explanation made sense. So I thought, why not me?

My GRE's were coming up pretty soon so I decided to put this to the test. I was probably around a 600 level GRE test taker at the time. Over the next three months I solved 1200+ GRE math problems. I walked into the test center and walked out with a 1550 (750 V, 800 Q[uantitative]). The high score is nice, but the real lesson here is that most things intellectual are not out of reach for most folks.

Catlauren: Wish you the best of luck in pursuing psychology. Myself, I'm looking at Clinical and OBM programs to start in Aug 2011. What do you wish to do in graduate school?


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## catlauren (Aug 14, 2010)

EYENTJ said:


> Catlauren: Wish you the best of luck in pursuing psychology. Myself, I'm looking at Clinical and OBM programs to start in Aug 2011. What do you wish to do in graduate school?


EYENTJ, Thanks. Good luck to you too! To answer your question... I'm hoping to get into a counseling psychology program (to also begin Fall 2011) with an emphasis in career counseling topics such as personality, values, etc. I'm not 100% certain whether in the end I will want to be a career counselor, researcher/writer, professor or a combination. So far I believe that I would enjoy all/any of these careers.


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## jack london (Aug 27, 2010)

Raising my three kids to not be complete jerks. To accept them for who they are and to give them room to grow on their own.


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## sofort99 (Mar 27, 2010)

20 years of mostly homicide free marriage.


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## pinkrasputin (Apr 13, 2009)

Raising one hell of a daughter. To a lesser degree: running my 50 mile ultra marathon in April.


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## WickedQueen (Jun 1, 2009)

My published novels, my trophies, my alcohol & drugs free track record, and my friends.


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## kiwigrl (Apr 27, 2010)

My 2 kids! They are awesome. My marriage.

I am also pleased with myself for completing a half marathon last year, despite my on-going foot injury (damaged "inferior extensor retinaculum") from the previous year ...took alot of self talk through the sometimes painful training.

I am yet to realise my creative dreams. I want to be a makeup artist, I want to one day exhibit paintings.


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## Apollo Celestio (Mar 10, 2010)

Doing a kip up


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## ceembee (Jun 28, 2010)

Making it to Nationals in debate senior year of high school in an event that I didn't compete in at all that year until Districts (Student Congress).

I did well academically in high school, but I didn't feel as though I had to work for it.


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## Jojo (Jul 5, 2010)

State Volunteer of the Year


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## xrevolutionx (Apr 10, 2010)

Finally conquering my depression which has kept me prisoner for 11 years.


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## SlowPoke68 (Apr 26, 2010)

I've achieved most of the things I dreamed of doing as a teenager and a young adult, though not always in the ways I had expected. 

But. . . 

Lately I've realized that thinking in terms of goals--and going all-out to achieve them--has had a negative effect in my life. I know it's what everyone seems to think is the way to do it, but a danger of that approach is that once you get there you tend to expect to be loved for having reached your goal. But just achieving a goal is not a reason to love anyone. This has been a challenge for me because I was led from an early age to think only of goals and not to prize myself and others just for being. So now, I'm trying to work on that.


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## pinkrasputin (Apr 13, 2009)

SlowPoke68 said:


> I've achieved most of the things I dreamed of doing as a teenager and a young adult, though not always in the ways I had expected.


This is awesome and good for you!



> But. . .
> 
> Lately I've realized that thinking in terms of goals--and going all-out to achieve them--has had a negative effect in my life. I know it's what everyone seems to think is the way to do it, but a danger of that approach is that once you get there you tend to expect to be loved for having reached your goal. But just achieving a goal is not a reason to love anyone. This has been a challenge for me because I was led from an early age to think only of goals and not to prize myself and others just for being. So now, I'm trying to work on that.


When I accomplish my goals, I feel good about myself. I work hard and love the feeling when it has paid off. With each accomplishment, I know I can get through anything if I really work at it.

My accomplishments and goals reached are not about other's approval. They are inner challenges that once completed, make me feel proud of myself and like I can do anything. It's okay to be driven. It's just not okay to exist for other people's approval. I have to keep my motives in check. I really learned that this year. I did some trimming in my life. The things that made me feel good about myself stayed, the things I used to do for others went out the window.


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## Black Rabbit (Apr 15, 2010)

Being honest with myself and brave enough to make a career change so early.


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## WiscoExplorer (Mar 9, 2010)

My greatest achievment this year was getting drunk, driving home in the vehicle my girlfriends parents sold to me (which wasn't paid off yet), hitting a snow drift, losing control, rolling my suv, and...surviving...only to have to confess this to the sheriff, my parents, my girlfriend, and her family. (I'm at a low point in my life) No good decision I've made seems to matter now.


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## Time to Paradox (May 17, 2010)

Currently, it's persevering through school and not giving up.


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