Validation, ego or for the right reasons?

One of my personal goals for this year's I Ho Chuan is to complete the first year of my degree.  This is something that I hadn't been able to start on until now for many reasons.  The main reason that I want to earn my degree is to legitimize (with credentials) my experiences to date.  I've gathered a wealth of experiences over the 20+ years of my career which I'm very proud of.  I've been told by my current employer that if I want to take it to the next level I'll need to get a degree.  

Here's my conundrum.  What if if I don't want to take my career to the next level?  I'm very happy with what I'm doing right now.  I make a very good living, I have the freedom to run my job like it's my own business.  I have a really good work life balance that allows me to have the time I need for myself and my family.  

So the question is why am I still moving forward with my degree?  I think there's some ego coming into play.  With a degree I'll be able to thumb my nose at all of those people that told me that I wouldn't amount to anything.  These same people that wrote me off many years ago when I was way too young to understand what I wanted to do with my life.  I've been harbouring anger and resentment  deep inside my soul for a very long time.  I've had to fight tooth and nail to get where I am right now.  So would this degree legitimize my status in the world?  To myself yes but not to those people because they'll never know.  I think the key here is to let these emotions go.  I need to be better inside my own skin and to be comfortable with who I am and who I've become.

I'm still moving forward with my degree as I want to accomplish this for myself and the betterment of my family.  It's no longer about proving anything to anyone. 

Mr. Repay