Overcoming different levels of difficulty/stress

Here I am referring only to academics, employment, etc.
Until I attempted the US CPA exam, I was told by everyone, "Wow, it is a VERY hard exam, it is VERY tricky, it is full of concepts & analytical thinking, don't take it lightly, it is so prestigious if you pass it, you'll get golden opportunities once you're done with it", endless list of praise for the US CPA exam...
Well, I have already passed ACCA exams, and I assumed that CPA must be even harder, no wonder it has such global devotion??
But finally when I got my result, I realized that I had passed with flying colours, and now I can say that I was chickened out because of all the warnings, but ACCA was much much more tougher than this...
So, now that I am done with the Financial Reporting module (which was a gentle breeze compared to ACCA's FR), I suddenly meet a bunch of people from all around who tell me it's very easy, silly exam, nothing compared to the Chartered Accountancy programs of other countries, etc...
So now I am wondering, what happened to the talk of prestige, golden opportunities etc?
Personally, now that I have experienced both systems (US CPA, ACCA), I will honestly say, it's the same... US follows GAAP, ACCA was IFRS... US will soon shift to IFRS in the long term when they are done with the convergence issues... For now, just that US GAAP is 'rule based', whereas IFRS is 'best practice' based...
It is very interesting reading up on the US perspective of accounting, taxation, audit etc, I notice that all fundamental basic concepts are universal in the profession of accounting. However, there are certain major differences in treatment due to legal benchmarks on management, presentation & disclosure.
Now that I have achieved it and overcome the biggest hurdle in the US CPA exam (the big fat FR module), I feel like, wow, this is it? so simple?
Now I am thirsty again, now I am restless again, now I feel useless again...
I guess until we achieve something in life, it feels prestigious, hard-to-reach, full of golden opportunities, rare, deified, THE best...
But after you've achieved it, you feel like, "it must be so simple if I have been able to do it, surely there are further challenges ahead, with greener pastures, this can't be the best, there's got to be better ahead"...
So the journey to learn continues, the journey to know more continues, the journey to improve continues, the thirst lives on, the desires grow further. The pursuit of education is like deer chasing a mirage on the horizon, the further you go, the more you know there is to achieve, the smaller you feel, the bigger you want to grow...
But yes, with every achievement, there is a sense of happiness, a sense of contentment at that level... Only that we move onto the next level, for that is the struggle for survival & the desire to grow... good, better, best, bestER, bestEST. :-)