Accomplishment or Recognition? #WordsWednesday

The other day I was watching the movie “A Beautiful Mind” a second time, and one scene caught my attention. That was when a professor asked John, the movie's main character, what he saw when the faculty was congratulating one professor by placing their pens on the table in front of him as a token of appreciation in connection with an achievement of a lifetime.

John answered, “Recognition.” The professor told him, “Try seeing accomplishment.” John went on, “Is there a difference?” His professor told him in return, “You haven’t focused….”

Do you know the difference between “accomplishment” and “recognition”? Let’s focus on the following differences:

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, “accomplishment” in this context means “an impressive thing that is done or achieved after a lot of work” or “the successful completing of something.”

“Recognition,” on the other hand, means “public praise and reward for somebody’s work or actions.”

This means, for instance, you can accomplish something big, but you may not get recognition for that. Or you can have recognition over an achievement, but you wouldn’t necessarily feel accomplished. I believe the subtle difference lies in the fact that true accomplishment should give you personal deep-down satisfaction even though your accomplishment may not get recognized by others.

Do you agree with me? Can you tell the difference? Share with me, and let me know in the comments:

• What did you learn?
• And what is your takeaway from this session?