December 5, 2024
Dear Fellow Traveler,
Beware of Achievement Capture.
Recently over Thanksgiving dinner, my mom excitedly announced that someone we knew had won a Fulbright scholarship. Her voice glowed with deep admiration as she shared the news, and it got me thinking about how certain achievements seem to capture our collective imagination and attention in powerful ways.
Now, let me explain what a Fulbright actually is: It's a government program that sends around 2,000 U.S. students annually to teach English abroad. Recipients typically teach 12-30 hours per week and receive a monthly stipend between $900-$2,600, depending on the country. That works out to roughly $11-30 per hour of teaching time.
Is it selective? Sure - acceptance rates hover between 27-39%. Is it prestigious? Yes - the program has produced 62 Nobel Prize winners and 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients over its 77-year history. But when you strip away the name and the status, what are we really talking about? Getting paid entry-level wages to teach English in another country for 8-10 months - something anyone could technically do without the award.
Let me be absolutely clear: I'm not criticizing the Fulbright program or diminishing its value. If you've received a Fulbright or are pursuing one, I'm genuinely happy for you. I'm sure it's an incredible experience that opens doors and creates meaningful opportunities. My point isn't about the Fulbright specifically, but rather about our tendency to overvalue certain achievements while undervaluing other important aspects of life.
This phenomenon, which I call "achievement capture," was particularly evident in my high school days with the Iowa All-State Music Competition. Every fall, the best musicians from band, orchestra, and choir programs across the entire state would compete for a limited number of spots in this prestigious weekend festival. Making All-State was considered the highest honor a high school musician could achieve in Iowa. The school would literally hang large portraits of the winners in the main hallway, their faces smiling down at us from on high, complete with plaques listing their names and achievements.
Making All-State was everything to me back then - I was literally hysterical when I barely missed making it. It crushed me completely. Yet here's a sobering thought: If you grouped 100 high school musicians in a room who had tried out for All-State - 50 who made it and 50 who didn't - you would not be able to distinguish between them in any way shape or form based on their life 5-10 years later. Absolutely nothing whatsoever.
Again, let me be clear - I'm not degrading All-State. I'm sure it was a wonderful experience for those who made it. But when you strip it down, it's performing in a concert for 48 hours one time in high school. Both my younger brothers made it, and when I asked them about it five years later, they gave me blank stares. They hadn't thought about it in years, nor have either of them touched their respective instruments since then. Yet at the time, the achievement felt like it would define our entire life.
These accolades have such a powerful draw because they're binary and tractable. You either got the Fulbright or you didn't. You made All-State or you didn't. You got into Harvard or you didn't. There's no gray area, no spectrum to navigate. And because they're so easily understood, they become perfect status signals.
I'm not immune to this either. Right now, I'm fixated on hitting 100k YouTube subscribers because I want that plaque on my wall. But honestly, will my life be any different at 100k versus 95k or 105k? Of course not. The journey and the work matter far more than crossing some arbitrary threshold.
Here's where it gets dangerous: these achievement markers often overshadow things that actually matter but don't come with plaques or certificates. There's no "Great Friend of the Year" award for having 3-5 deeply trustworthy friends who have your back. My mom never calls excitedly to tell me about someone who's achieved excellent mental health or consistently gets 8-9 hours of sleep. There's no "Peak Physical Condition" trophy for maintaining 12% body fat and a high VO2 max.
Think about it - would you rather have a prestigious award or five real friends who would do anything for you? Would you trade perfect mental and physical health for an achievement to hang on your wall? Yet we sacrifice these foundational elements of a good life chasing achievements that often mean little in the grand scheme of things.
I see this in my own family. My brothers and I have relatively few close friendships, but we don't talk about that. Instead, the focus is always on getting into this school, winning that award, achieving this milestone. It's backwards.
Here's another example that hits close to home: I won multiple awards for saxophone in high school, but I honestly have more respect for the street performer who plays for pennies simply because they love music. They're doing it for the pure joy of it, not for the meaningless accolades or the portrait on the wall.
So what can we do about this? First, start noticing when you feel that pull toward tractable achievements. When you find yourself obsessing over awards or any other binary marker of success, ask yourself: What actual difference will this make? What am I sacrificing to chase this?
Then, redirect your attention to the things that truly matter but don't come with trophies - building genuine friendships, maintaining your physical and mental health, developing real expertise in things you care about, and showing up every day to do your best work - not to beat others, but to grow and learn.
Because at the end of the day, no award, not even one with an impressive alumni list, can replace having people who truly care about you. No plaque can substitute for genuine mastery and enjoyment of your craft. And no achievement can compensate for sacrificing your physical and mental wellbeing.
Here's to valuing what truly matters,
Aman
P.S. If you're looking to land your dream software engineering job or internship - not because of any arbitrary achievement or prestige, but because of the freedom and life it enables - check out the Software Engineering Accelerator. Over 3-6 months, we work with you to develop real skills and land the job you want, absolutely guaranteed. Because at the end of the day, it's not about adding another achievement to your wall - it's about building the life you actually want to live.
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
-Willia Bruce Cameron
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
I am dedicating this week's recommendation to Brandon Sanderson's epic fantasy series, The Stormlight Archive. The final book releases tomorrow, marking the end of a 15-year journey. I’ve been waiting for the final book in the series for the past four years ever since I discovered it in 2020 through a recommendation from Ali Abdaal.
This series is genuinely extraordinary. The second book, Words of Radiance, holds the #1 spot on Goodreads' most popular books list - and while I typically shy away from arbitrary rankings, in this case it perfectly reflects just how great these books are.
I especially love experiencing these through audiobooks. Instead of setting aside dedicated reading time, I weave them into moments that would otherwise be mundane - my morning shower, meal prep, workouts. There's something magical about recapturing that feeling from childhood where you're completely immersed in a story, and these books do exactly that.
If you've been missing that sense of wonder and adventure in your life, start with The Way of Kings (Book 1) on audio. Trust me - your daily routine will never be the same.