Message to the Overachievers

At the San Francisco Advertising Federation banquet, I heard the host say something about my company: "And Satellite Film and Video's 'Stop the Hate' PSAs… wins in the category of Public Service Television… a Bronze Award."

The whole time, I’d been clutching my sleeves, waiting for the results. My heart was racing.

But as soon as I heard the word Bronze, the thrill drained from my body.

My thoughts spiraled instantly. My inner voice sharpened: "Bronze? Why didn’t you get Gold? Was your work not good enough? Are you not good enough?"

My excitement for winning an advertising award evaporated into a quiet thud of disappointment. The next hour was a blur of forced smiles and waiting for the ceremony to end.

But the next morning, after a decent night’s sleep, I realized how wrong that reaction was.

Instead of celebrating a win — being recognized by a respected creative institution and feeling proud of the work I had done — my mind went straight to "that's not good enough."

A psychologist could probably unpack why I reacted that way. Maybe it’s my Chinese American upbringing, where anything less than straight A’s felt like failure. Maybe it’s our capitalist culture, always pushing for more, bigger, better.

Whatever the reason, I see now that it’s not a healthy mindset. If we’re always focused on what’s next, what’s shinier, what’s better — we never stop to appreciate what we’ve actually accomplished.

So, to the overachievers out there:

Take a second. Appreciate what you’ve done. Your work matters. You matter. Honor yourself.

Posted: 03/21/2025