Hi folks,

I've always been hooked up on the achievement thing, and it's usually pumped in from the outside, by family etc. My family used achievement as a club to beat my head with.

Happiness is the achievement that I want.

Candy knows that I have an MPhil. 10 years ago I walked away from a Phd. The work was all written up and presented, and I was in the Viva exam. The external examiner said that he wanted some changes, maybe three weeks work, and then it would pass.

At the time my depression was just starting to phase in, and I knew I couldn't make it. I told them, there was a flurry of emails and then silence.

I don't regret that decision for one moment, not one. I am the better for finally breaking the spell. It was the beginning of me finding a way forward, and letting some of those old patterns go. I too have a job that I love, but only part time, and I spend a lot of time quietly, doing my Buddhist practice, enjoying nature.

I feel that I have nothing to prove. Maybe if I'm hassled I'll get an old pattern kick in and I'll react a bit defensively, but when I'm alone I have nothing to prove. The biggest job was always dealing with the depression and anxiety, everything else was by the way.

cms, it sounds like you have done fine. There's no need to add pressure. Maybe you could do something that doesn't have any 'qualifications' attached, just for the fun of it.

Cheers everyone, Myzen,