I'm sure I've written on this subject before, but can't remember when so it's at least 24 hrs ago. Data - and the collection, storing and use of, and in particular data relating to ones achievements.
I have a special interest in this topic because I love data. Yes, really. Statistics to me are the lifeblood of history, what makes something stand out is it's data, it put it's into context (sometimes) and quantifies what it is - I think that's the important bit, quantifying it.
We're surrounded by this every day in nearly every news worthy article. We are told how big something is, its speed, value, mass, height, cost, need I go on? I'm not talking surveys here - the inane questionnaire sent to the same people who are paid if they fill it in, no, I'm talking things with data wrapped around them to make them stand out from the crowd, that make me think 'Hmm, must be good, it's the biggest/lowest/smallest/fastest/fattest (delete as applicable)'.
If we use this with our own modest achievements it can give immense satisfaction at a very personal level without impressing anyone (except ourselves). Let me give you an example: supposing I'm doing a 30 mile bike ride - nothing impressive in that for anyone - but what if I'm collecting data whilst doing that ride measuring gradient, speed, effort, cadence, temperature, heart rate, and not only that the data is then summarised, calculated, categorised and fed into a giant database of like-minded statistics for you to compare, analyse and graph to your hearts content producing some meaningless statistic to anyone else, but to you is the Bosun-Higgs of your bike ride.
So, don't be afraid of data, especially your own and if you can't fool yourself, who can you fool?
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