What They Don't Tell You About Winning Film Awards

From my friend Anthony Salamon on what it's like to win an award in the film industry:

The psychology of winning is also more complex than anyone admits. There's an immediate high, followed by a weird emptiness. You've achieved something you've been working toward, and suddenly you need new goals. Some winners describe a mild depression that follows major recognition, the "What now?" syndrome that comes when you realize that achieving your dreams doesn't fundamentally change who you are or solve your deeper creative challenges.

In my experience this phenomenon extends to any achievement or event that redounds to a significant moment of extrinsic validation in one's career. Anthony's description of the hangover effect following an award win mirrors exactly what it felt like to give a big conference talk or keynote address, especially if it was a "first" for me and doubly-so if it was very well received. It was always followed by a brief and intense emotional high followed by a deep well of uncertainty and exhaustion. A lesson I learned every conference season and promptly unlearned just in time for the subsequent year's conference season.

Speaking of conference season, I retired from speaking a year ago and it's that time again. Rails World is this week and lots of my friends are in Amsterdam and I am experiencing absolutely no FOMO. Don't miss it at all. Few things are as intrinsically validating as accurately forecasting how a consequential decision will ultimately make you feel. Zero regrets.