Another lesson is to not rely on the opinion of the opposite gender (or the same, if you prefer...not that there's anything wrong with that) for your self-esteem.
Also, don't give too much weight to well-meaning writers who ask you to do more and dream less.
After all, we're no more than little grubby organisms clinging to a dirty, water-covered rock in a rather humdrum star system that sits on the edge of a pretty ordinary galaxy. Against that backdrop, even the Apollo program is not much better than your soon to be forgotten project.
Whenever I find myself down and my productivity low, I stop and think of how insignificant all this is, on a cosmic scale. We're here, and then we're not.
You'd guess that this thinking would make you feel nihilistic: what is the point of what I'm doing? Ironically, I only feel like that when thinking on a human scale, of life, of what I want to accomplish, of how unattainable it all seem in the moment. Then I step back, and I see that we are a spec in time and all this self-doubt and torture is unnecessary. At the end of this game, there are no winners. Enjoying the sport is your personal victory.
Also, don't give too much weight to well-meaning writers who ask you to do more and dream less.
After all, we're no more than little grubby organisms clinging to a dirty, water-covered rock in a rather humdrum star system that sits on the edge of a pretty ordinary galaxy. Against that backdrop, even the Apollo program is not much better than your soon to be forgotten project.