John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Trophies

Know thyself.

Brutal self-honesty and continuous self-reflection are integral staples of a well-lived life in which we can be “True to ourselves.”

Last Friday I went by a trophy store in town and started asking myself some hard questions. It’s been a long time since I’ve received a trophy for anything. Or a plaque for that matter. And I really like receiving both and felt like it was about time to get something again that I could put on my shelf or wall and be affirmed by –and hope others notice and are impressed.

So I started thinking to myself, “Who says you can’t buy yourself a trophy or plaque?” I mean, maybe it’s an oversight that I (we) haven’t received any kind of award in a long time…and by giving ourselves a trophy all we are really doing is correcting the oversight.

More or less.

Anyway, I felt comfortable with my logic and got to wondering what on Earth would I get myself a personal trophy for. And I wanted to be brutally honest about what I should and shouldn’t give myself for a personally purchased award. Because without self honesty, all the awards are just meaningless decorations.

(I started by mulling an NBA MVP—but will back date it 12 or 15 years to be more believable. But I think I’m going to go with something that really could happen. “Best Intentioned Consultant on the Second Floor Bank Building off Ann St.” It’s not only believable ….it’s a really long title which always seems more impressive than short titles. Guess next I need to start working on an acceptance speech. ; )