My company had just started doing performance reviews, as they had been growing a lot (generic small startup with unlimited vacation and all that) and it was Th

My company had just started doing performance reviews, as they had been growing a lot (generic small startup with unlimited vacation and all that) and it was That Time. So this was a quarterly performance review, but was my first after having worked there 1-2 years. The system had six levels resembling standard deviations in a normal distribution, so ~2% at the extreme high and extreme low. In parallel, you pick one for yourself and describe why in text, and your manager picks one for you and describes why in text. Then some software simultaneously shares them between you, and you have a 1:1 to discuss things you didn't agree on, or that one of you brought up but not the other. I rated myself as the highest level, because I thought I was the second-highest level and had learned that my opinions about myself are generally lower than others' opinions of me, so I decided to purposefully account for imposter syndrome. My manager rated me as the second-highest level and said that the only thing keeping me from the highest level was the amount of vacation I'd taken that quarter. I'd taken 5 weeks off that quarter. It's a lot for a quarter, but it was also the only time I'd taken off the whole year, and 5 weeks was the "recommended" yearly amount. So I wasn't sure how to feel, and second-highest level didn't seem like something to complain about. Still not sure how I feel five years later because I do see both sides and it's a hard problem to fairly solve. But I live a happy life and don't have any complaints, so I don't let it get to me. It's just a performance review, and you will look back in 10 years from a different job, city, and/or life situation wondering why you cared so much.