No More Honor Role.

Comparing ourselves to others is a key driver of unhappiness. Tom DeLong, author of Flying Without a Net, even describes a "Comparing Trap." He writes, "No matter how successful we are and how many goals we achieve, this trap causes us to recalibrate our accomplishments and reset the bar for how we define success."And as we judge the entirety of our own lives against the top 1% of our friends' lives, we're setting impossible standards for ourselves, making us more miserable than ever. -Daniel Gulati

What have you accomplished this year? How about in the past 5-10 years? Some may say that they have not accomplished much. If you take a closer look, however, you may find that you have accomplished many new things. I find that when I accomplish something new I have a tendency to behave as if it is no big deal. I think to myself, "Oh anyone could have done that." A good friend of mine pointed out that I need to take a moment and enjoy my successes. I may not be where I want to be yet, but I am better than I used to be. If I do not appreciate what I have accomplished now, I won't appreciate it when I get to the future "there" either. I want to encourage you to take an assessment of where you are in your life. What great things have you accomplished? Did you learn something new? Did you create something? Did you help someone? I'm positive if you look closely enough, you will find that you have accomplished quite a lot. -Kizzy Preston