Whenever I accomplish anything, even the smallest of tasks, not even very well, I might add, I’m practically giddy with joy.

Look at me! I accomplished something!

It feels like the whole world should stop, look at, and applaud my efforts. Ok, maybe not the entire world. Perhaps just the western hemisphere. Hmm, that still seems a bit much. Ok, ok. Then, at the very least, Handsome and all Facebook followers awake and reading feeds at the time of my pride-filled post should give me a like or a star or a “Hey, you didn’t screw it up. Way to go!” I guess that would be HYDSIUWTG in textspeak.

But nope. I’m alone in my self-congratulatory haze.

Handsome firmly believes that you do not, should not, and cannot express appreciation, awe, or love for mediocrity. If you can do something, you should do it and get it done. Period. No awards or pats on the back are needed.

Besides, pride is evil, right?

At least, that is what I was told as a kid.

“Pride comes before the fall” is how the proverb goes.

Very true in my case. Often several falls, in fact. But that is why – when I succeed – I want to pull out some streamers and dance about. It’s why I enjoy taking a moment to smile, puff out my chest in pride, and proclaim personal victory.

Granted, they are small victories, very small.

Mixing a perfectly delicious Bloody Mary, walking downstairs while balancing a notebook, cup of coffee, box, and a martini glass without falling or dropping anything, and getting my workout completed with enough time to sneak into the shower before Handsome finishes his workout. All accomplishments!

Mixing a perfectly delicious Bloody Mary, walking downstairs while balancing a notebook, cup of coffee, box, and a martini glass without falling or dropping anything, and getting my workout completed with enough time to sneak into the shower before Handsome finishes his workout. All accomplishments!

I’ve even selected a new to-do list app that awards me Karma points for every task I complete throughout the day. No, they don’t buy anything. I can’t save them up for airline miles or get free pro status once I’ve gone over 10,000 tasks. But it is still so satisfying to see that message in the upper right corner of my screen proclaiming I completed 5 tasks today with an icon of a gold medal. I achieved my goal! I proclaim myself awesome!

And it is really thumping myself hard on the back for five tasks in a day because I chose five as my daily goal in the settings and two of today’s tasks were “wipe down kitchen counters” and the other was “dust bookshelves.”

Definitely not rocket science (although I still haven’t dusted yet).

But it provides me with a small measure of happiness and satisfaction. Maybe if I applaud the small stuff, I’ll feel better about tackling the bigger stuff.

Maybe.