Do you remember the first time you took a baby step in front of your parents? They were probably bursting with pride by the mere fact that that you were able to balance on two feet and walk forward.
Whether or not you were conscious enough to participate in the celebration, your parents were no doubt reveling in your success.
Then you challenged yourself further as you got older. Perhaps you learned how to play a musical instrument, like the piano, the violin, or the guitar.
Pushing Your Limits
Do you remember the first time you were able to properly press your finger on the bar and get a clean sound from the string? Chances are you were quite proud of yourself in that moment.
Then you learned how to play your first standard chord. Maybe it was a simple 'C' or an 'F', and you were delighted with your progress.
Weeks later, you were able to position your fingers to play a crisp D Major, or a G suspended 4. Now, the idea of getting a simple clean note didn't impress you as much.
The same psychological phenomena can be applied to any skill you may be in the process of learning.
Expectations Increase
Do you remember the first time you sent a Bitcoin transaction and checked an explorer to verify that it had been confirmed on the blockchain? You were probably pretty satisfied with yourself when you figured out how to do that.
These days, you are likely executing blockchain transactions with your eyes closed.
The thing is, once we reach a high enough level, we start to berate ourselves whenever we can't achieve more advanced tasks.
For example, we mess up that complex Beethoven song on the piano and criticize ourselves for the mistake. Or we beat ourselves up when we fail to add an additional network to Metamask, bridge our tokens to a new blockchain, and stake them to the correct validator.
Remembering Your Triumphs
It's always important to remember how far you've come, and all the challenges you've managed to overcome to get to where you are today.
That said, we always want to be pushing ourselves forward, because that is what makes us evolve.
This is a balance that you must strike within yourself.
Obviously we don't want to become totally complacent where we are, and say "things are good enough here." However, we also don't want to be constantly focused on the objectives we've yet to accomplish, and think we'll only be happy when we achieve them.
Therefore, enjoy where you are on the journey right now, appreciating the progress you've made, and also looking forward to the mistakes and failures you will make in the future that will make you a better person.
Until next time...
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