You don't want the trophy. You want to deserve it.
What pulls you forward isn't the win — it's the climb to deserving it. You'd rather be the best in a room nobody's watching than the most-praised person doing it badly. Skill is your currency, and you spend your life getting richer in it. The catch: the bar moves the instant you reach it, so you rarely let yourself feel good. You finished the thing. You got better. Let that count for a minute before you start the next climb.
Get your read — free on iPhoneyou've gotten genuinely great at something and still talk about it like you're a beginner. the praise bounces off — only the next level feels real.