That's exactly what I'm saying. For someone who has endured childhood trauma, the second path isn't helpful. In fact, it's unhealthy, stinkin' thinkin;. It's one thing to admit you didn't try as hard or didn't present something as well as you could have, but it's a different thing to say that you are a piece of shi*t because of that. It's not the truth. You learn from it and hopefully do better next time. And also, what you're saying in response to my first response seems vastly different than what you wrote about in your piece. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses in life are valid. But that didn't come across in your piece. Make sense? Thanks Roman!