Awesome Rewards for a Less than Stellar Job

Ok so yes, I'm a recovering overachiever, so things like this bug me.

Consider the following situation....
You slap together a presentation in less than 30 mins that is going to a very important audience to convince them of something and present it to your boss thinking that it is a first draft and that he or she will improve upon it before sending it off as the final version. Instead, your boss sends your first draft off as the final version with no changes.

So the realist would say "who cares because you still end up better off in the end and you conserved energy that you would have possibly expended to achieve the same result." Somehow the overachiever in me disagrees. I relish those moments where you've worked really hard for something and every ounce of that hard work paid off.

I feel awkward accepting rewards for things that are less that my best work. Growing up, it was all about just doing your best. I guess that message stuck and so it's hard for me to except rewards that come from doing less than my best.

I'm learning though that working hard all of the time does not get me everything that makes me happy in life. My last 4 months of working at Genentech has taught me that with my increased spare time. Maybe this new frame of reference will help me to be more accepting of these situations where I am recognized for more than the effort that I put into it.