Picture this: You're standing on the second-place podium, silver medal heavy around your neck, watching someone else receive the gold. The crowd cheers, cameras flash, and everyone congratulates you on a "fantastic achievement." But inside, you're dying. You can taste what you missed. You were this close to greatness, and somehow that feels worse than if you'd crashed and burned completely.
Welcome to the peculiar hell of "almost."
Here's what nobody tells you about almost-success: it haunts you longer than total failure ever could. The person who fails spectacularly gets back up, learns, and tries again. But the person who gets close? They often get stuck there, convinced they've reached their ceiling, settling into the comfortable misery of "good enough."
This content is only available to subscribers
Subscribe now and have access to all our stories, enjoy exclusive content and stay up to date with constant updates.
Unlock contentAlready have an account? Sign In
