Rhiwbina Living Issue 57

wellbeing
Make a list of your
proudest achievements
uways
to beat
Imposter
Syndrome
Imposter Syndrome is defined as
'the persistent inability to believe
that one's success is deserved or
has been legitimately achieved
as a result of one's own efforts or
skills'. Here's how to free yourself
of it and to thrive.
Visit your younger self
Take a minute to dwell on your
achievements, no matter how small.
Think about how far you have come.
Picture yourself, ten, twenty years ago.
What were you doing then? How far
have you come since? What have you
learned in that time? Jot them down in
black and white so they feel real.
One powerful way to gain perspective is to visit your young self and
speak to them.
Clear your schedule for 15 minutes. Turn your phone off. Take yourself to
a quiet room and lie down. Close your eyes and take a few minutes to let
yourself settle. Focus on your breathing. When you feel fully relaxed, in
your mind, take yourself back to a comfortable place in your childhood.
Wherever you find yourself, gently sit down alongside them and
introduce yourself. Get talking to
them. Ask them what they’d really
love to do when they grow up.
It’s quite probable that they’ll tell
you that they’ll want to do what
you are doing now when they
grow up. You can tell them that
that’s what they’ll do in their future
life. You’ll tell them all the amazing
things you’ve managed to achieve
so far.
Accept that you can’t win everything all the time
It’s good to be reminded that it’s a physical possibility to win everything
all the time. It’s equally important to
remember that failure is part of life.
Failure is part of learning. It’s part of
developing and seeing failure as part
of that process will remind you that
you can’t go winning at everything.
The fact that you are making mistakes
doesn’t show that you are necessarily
bad at anything. In fact, it shows that
you are at least trying.
Perfect doesn’t exist.
Remember that no one
is perfect
Believe it or not, despite what
society presents to us, there is
not one perfect person in the
world. Because, what is perfect?
The constant pursuit of
perfection can leave you feeling
exhausted, both emotionally
and physically. Cut yourself
some slack when you’ve
performed to your best ability.
Allow yourself to congratulate
jobs well done.
Recognise your areas
of expertise
Everyone has their own strengths
and weaknesses and it's
always good to remind yourself
that directly comparing your
vulnerabilities to someone else's
strengths does not mean that
they are better than you.
Don't ask yourself if you are
clever. Ask yourself what you are
clever at. You will have strengths,
just as much as you will have
weaknesses. But that's normal.
That's human.
Acknowledge your weaknesses
but celebrate your expertise.
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