Successfully reaching or attaining a goal, objective, or desired outcome through effort and persistence. It creates feelings of accomplishment, pride, and self-efficacy.
From Old French 'achever' meaning 'to complete' or 'finish,' derived from Latin 'ad' (to) and 'caput' (head), literally meaning 'to bring to a head.' The word emphasizes completion and culmination.
Achieving activates the brain's 'reward prediction error' - when we accomplish something, our dopamine system compares the outcome to expectations. This is why achieving something we worked hard for feels better than easy wins, and why setting challenging but attainable goals maximizes satisfaction.
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