In the early 90’s I worked for a very large corporation with offices around the globe. I really enjoyed my job in the marketing department. I was able to interact with co-workers and clients, vendors and potential vendors. All was good in my world. That is until I decided to let someone else define my ideal for success.
My current boss went to great pains to convince me I needed to learn programming if I wanted to succeed. Although I didn’t feel a calling for this my boss encouraged me to register for night classes. Against my better judgment I did.
It didn’t take but a few minutes into the first class for me to know this was not for me. Despite the nagging feeling in my gut I talked myself into staying.
I struggled through the course cringing at the thought of doing this for the rest of my life.
After a few more months of rolling up my sleeves, buckling down and being miserable I decided to admit the truth. This was not what my definition of success was.
Not that programming is a bad thing. There are plenty of people who love it and are great at what they do. I wasn’t one of them.
Needless to say my boss was disappointed. I’m convinced this put a wedge between us.
If I would have had the courage to say no from the beginning things would likely have turned out different.
How often do we find ourselves doing something because someone else thinks we should or afraid to hurt their feelings at the expense of chipping away at our truth?
Staying in our truth is a major aspect of success. Yet, something very strange happens to many people as they achieve various levels of success. Countless numbers of people experience what is called The Imposter Syndrome.
First identified in 1978 by Georgia State University psychology professor Pauline Rose Clance and psychologist Suzanne Imes, impostors are high achievers who don’t believe in their accomplishments, are convinced they’re scamming everyone about their skills and will eventually be uncovered
“The impostor syndrome is surprisingly common,” Dr. Young, a Massachusetts-based educator and speaker on the subject, says. “Early studies suggest that up to 70 per cent of all people have experienced these feelings at one time or another, especially when starting a new job or pioneering in a field.”
The greatest we can offer is to walk in our truth and be our authentic self in all we do.
(from Module 5 of Spirit in Your Business)
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