If you have followed my blog for some time, you may have picked up on the fact that my wife is my muse. She was the one who encouraged me to begin blogging in the first place. As I look back over my posts, at least half of the ideas came from some comment or suggestion she made. This post is no exception to this  trend.

For those of you who do not know, my wife is a dancer. From the time she was five years old until today, (she still takes a weekly ballet class) she has danced. When she was 10 years old she entered the “pageant circuit.”  In these pageants she danced and sang. This pursuit continued until she was 15.

Regina’s first pageant

Her big “claim to fame” came in her third pageant (still at the age of 10) when she won the title of Little Miss Everman. (Everman is a small town south of Fort Worth, Texas.)

Here is Little Miss Everman

During a conversation regarding dance studios, and how they differ from studios of the past, the subject of pageants came up. I asked, “In your pageant years, did you ever win another title, or was Little Miss Everman all there was?” Her response was, “Yes, I won two other titles, but there was no crown for either, so those don’t count.”

Receiving the title of Ideal Miss North Dallas – but no crown.

Let me be quick to say that this statement is not a reflection of the person she is today, she said it in jest, but it did light the fuse for this post. She is my muse.

Why do we think there should be a “crown” for every accomplishment? Do we need to have tangible evidence to show to the world? Why are we not satisfied with the accomplishment itself, and what it means to us personally?

In his book Staying on the Path, Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “You cannot always be number one, or always win a contest, or always get the merit badge, or always make the honor role, but you can always think of yourself as an important, worthwhile person.”

So, the secret to happiness may be to give ourselves a private crown to acknowledge our accomplishments. No one else needs to know. And this one does count.