Not to say I've lowered my expectations for myself, but I started setting smaller goals. Mostly, these center around wellness or lifestyle — things that will just help me live better, even if they don't rank highly on the achievement scale.

For example, two years ago, I set a goal to declutter one item a day for the whole year. I ended up doing it for two years. Amazing how much self-esteem I got out of achieving that (even though no one will give me a framed award for it).

I think previously I never set small goals, because in some ways, I must have thought they were beneath me. Then I would feel frustrated and low on self-esteem when I didn’t achieve the "big" goals.

Excellent piece. Really got me thinking on where my own self-esteem lies.