For years, and even now I suffer from something called Imposter Syndrome. It is really hard to acknowledge this. I do not see my success, only my failures.
This syndrome is where you criticise yourself and cannot see how good you are at what you do.
For years I was a workaholic, striving to do better. Learn faster, create better training faster than anyone else. My close friend, who is also a colleague would tell me over and over how I learn faster than anyone she has ever met, and that my standards and quality of work was higher than the client expected.
I never took it in, did not listen.
Why am I telling you this?
This affected me achieving my goal. I learned over the years to always look confident and in control but inside I was upset and felt like a failure.
No matter what I was told by the people I was training or coaching, or those who had hired me, I could only see where I needed to improve.
Last week one of my coaches ask the question, what are you afraid of?
That question floored me, I really thought about it. Was I afraid of something? Then it came to me. No, I was holding myself back because I was the one who criticised myself the most.
When someone was telling me that I had lost a lot of weight during my weight loss I would reply there was still a long way to go.
When I had lost weight and even yesterday evening someone said I had lost a bit more weight, my reply was not thanks so much, but oh no, that can’t be a good thing.
Self criticism can hold us back from achieving our goals, it can stop us from changing our mindset and becoming the person we want to be.
This is one of the reasons I love motivational mantras. They help me to remember how far I have come. That I am worthy and that I have done some amazing things.
When I feel myself criticising myself I have started to say these mantra’s, because I am worthy of success. Just like you are.
What is your favourite mantra?