An old buddy of mine called yesterday - he was screaming on the phone. Turns out, he just won the Governor General's award in his field, which is a pretty big fokken deal, like one-third of a Nobel prize or something. Basically, he's set for life thanks to that award. I was and still am absolutely floored by the news and I'm thrilled for him, (in part because I wrote & translated his application papers, in Canadian English to boot.)
I remember a time in my life where I would've been extremely jealous of someone's hugh accomplishments, especially someone my age. It would make me actually angry and I'd make a vague 5-year plan in my head to accomplish something similarly hugh. And I'd usually calm down and forget all about that plan an hour later.
My random thought is this: I don't know when I stopped caring, but I'm perfectly okay with being a mediocre human being. I rock.