You are worthy of praise.
Do you tend to minimize your accomplishments or contributions?
Being in high-pressure/high-achievement focused professions may result in you feeling you need external validation (e.g., praise, awards). However, you may find that even when you receive this validation you may not allow yourself to fully feel the accomplishment.
You may discount your contributions or the effort you put in.
Many professions fuel this self-discounting by having inconsistent, invalidating, and seemingly random acceptances for journal submissions or presentation proposals.
Additionally, in academic settings the years-long pursuit of promotion and tenure only intensifies the feeling that you always need to be achieving. And that the achievements need to be in certain categories to be valid. (For example, service is important, but may not help you meet the requirements for promotion.)
The systems in which we function can often prioritize tasks that leave you feeling like you haven't done enough. Moreover, comparing yourself to your peers is another stressor that can leave us feeling like we do not deserve to embrace our accomplishments.
Call to action:
- Spend time this week reflecting on and recognizing the good effort you have put into your achievements.
- When someone gives you praise, embrace it.
- Overcome the reflex to diminish your contributions or accomplishments.