Celebrate Your Victories
For most of my life I have been my toughest critic. I subjected myself to mental torture over mistakes I made; always figuring I should have known better or could have tried harder. In my eyes, even when all was well, it still was never quite as good as it COULD have been. I have recently been blessed with two mentors - one personal, one professional - who both recognized my discomfort with expressing my talents, abilities and achievements. Much to my surprise, they also noticed that I could read off my shortcomings like a grocery list. Though I cannot pinpoint a single reason, I never mastered the art of accepting and celebrating my victories - I just didn't see much of a need to do so. I never talked about what I accomplished or the talent I knew I possessed. Recognition, praise and validation were things I expected others to give me - not giving it to myself is how I defined being humble....