What is your life's own 'greatest achievement'.....

[Mandon Knight]

Success and it's definition is a very personal outlook, with different merits meaning varying outcomes for us all. What do you regard as your own personal 'defining' achievement in life, could be anything from any part of your life.

Just interested to see and hear how people see their own journey's as such.

I have several in a life that's had many 'hurdles to overcome', I'll have to think about just 'one' to define it.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Popular thread then....

 

[InCali]

I've actually been thinking about this. It's a difficult question because it's so dependent on what's important to you personally. I worked as an electronic engineer and was partially responsible for using the infra red detectors you see today as switches to turn on faucets, dispense paper towels, flush toilets, turn on lights, etc. Is that a great accomplishment? Not for me personally, but some people are quite impressed by the idea.

I grew up quite poor in Los Angeles in a family that was largely uneducated, but pretty smart. I was the first in my family to graduate from a University and parlayed that into a great group of friends and a pretty lucrative and successful career that allowed me to provide my family with a lot of things I didn't have (they all still have a better car than I do LOL....I don't really value stuff like that). While a modest success, it's more meaningful to me than a specific idea; even if that idea significantly changed millions of people's lives. Someone else would have come up with it at some point and, for all I know, someone else was already working on it when the light bulbs went off in our heads.

 

[Mandon Knight]

I've actually been thinking about this. It's a difficult question because it's so dependent on what's important to you personally. I worked as an electronic engineer and was partially responsible for using the infra red detectors you see today as switches to turn on faucets, dispense paper towels, flush toilets, turn on lights, etc. Is that a great accomplishment? Not for me personally, but some people are quite impressed by the idea.

I grew up quite poor in Los Angeles in a family that was largely uneducated, but pretty smart. I was the first in my family to graduate from a University and parlayed that into a great group of friends and a pretty lucrative and successful career that allowed me to provide my family with a lot of things I didn't have (they all still have a better car than I do LOL....I don't really value stuff like that). While a modest success, it's more meaningful to me than a specific idea; even if that idea significantly changed millions of people's lives. Someone else would have come up with it at some point and, for all I know, someone else was already working on it when the light bulbs went off in our heads.

Thank you for contributing my friend (as ever) and well done on what you gave to yourself, many others and your family.

 

[Immortalfire]

Nothing.

 

[Mandon Knight]

I would for me, merely still being here at the age I am, having got through all I've faced is achievement enough and one that I am most proud of.

Had an awful start in life with health and it's educational impact upon me, deafness as a child and then subsequent gap in educational 'ability' of my peers of 3-4 years, had corrective surgery and caught up in life to make university. Got degree.

Battled the ramifications of the sheer effort in doing so with depression & anxiety, a suicide attempt and a breakdown at 21, overcome alcohol dependency and HUGE self hatred issues, re-built after two cancer battles at 21 and 28, got over being diagnosed T1 and all that entails.

Now, aged 46, am at my happiest, have a wonderful GF, who is my soul-mate and building that life together and very happy in my working life.

 

[RetrogradeOrbit]

If I was going for something purely me, then I would have to say running the New York Marathon back in 2003.
Otherwise it would be raising my daughter as best I was able to...

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

- Building a relationship with my girlfriend (who is way out of my league) I’m going to ask her to mary me this year
- Refining my artistic and musical skills over the years. I have my own style of art and music, which doesn’t work for everyone, but I’m proud of it!
- I have also bought my own house, and I’m very proud of that too!
- Sobriety. I am six months sober.

 

[HarveyHarris]

Clichéd but the family unit I've built. I lost my folks in my late teens, met a girl, got married, got an expensive divorce, met another girl, got married again, had a daughter and now number 2 is weeks away. Never saw myself as a dad, but absolutely love it.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Genuine thanks for those that have contributed thus far to this thread....

 

[Flash525]

I don't think I've achieved it yet, whatever it is going to be. There's certain things I've done which I've wanted to do, and I've felt good about having done it at the time, but thinking back on those events, they weren't so much grand achievements rather than personal goals, and they haven't contributed in making me feel any different...

Building a relationship with my girlfriend (who is way out of my league) I’m going to ask her to mary me this year.

Sobriety. I am six months sober.

Best of luck, and well done on staying sober.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I’m proud of the fact that I worked my way through grad school and split the cost with my dad.

The other is a painful one. I divorced my wife this year and all things considered it went well. It was a manipulative marriage and as painful as it was to leave, it was the right thing to do.