When you are employed you have genuine achievements to be proud of. Usually anyway. When you are unemployed you have no genuine achievements to be proud of. After a while you begin to fill the void left by your lack of achievements with the most minor achievements possible. Today I am proud of myself because I toasted my bagel perfectly and my coffeee turned out well. How lame is it that this is all I can say I accomplished? Later it will move into: I read a lot today. Unemployement can become kind of pitiful.