I don’t often post about personal stuff, but one of the unusual things in this most unusual of years has been the virtualisation of meetings and the way we have seen into each others lives in a new way. We’ve seen inside people’s homes and we’ve met some pets, children and partners. Also we’ve had to deal with the emotional and logistical issues in working under these conditions and working together and supporting each other has been more important than ever.
I’ve learned so much this year that I wanted to talk about it with you and I hope provide some support and encouragement as we come to the end of 2020 and begin to look forward to, hopefully a much better 2021.
Imposter Syndrome
Moving all of our training and other services online has been a challenge and as a result I suffered a relapse of a long term struggle with this very common condition. I am sure many of you have experience of this and can relate, but if you are wondering what I am talking about, Imposter Syndrome is the feeling that you are not really competent at what you do, and that sooner or later someone will find you out.
The fact is that my experience, knowledge and expertise are genuine and valuable, as I have to keep reminding myself. I have also found such encouragement in knowing that other people experience this and it is not just me. There is a huge amount of information and advice out there, and this article from Forbes is a good example: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthgotian/2020/12/08/feel-like-a-fraud-how-to-outsmart-imposter-syndrome/
Health and Well-being
The other thing I have relearned this year is the importance of looking after my health – physical, emotional and spiritual. I decided to prioritise my health and fitness two years ago when my cholesterol began to creep up and because several members of my immediate family suffer from heart conditions. When Lockdown 1 began I made a conscious decision to maintain that priority. I know a lot of people have struggled with diet and exercise, and I completely understand the struggle, but for me I knew that I wouldn’t cope if I didn’t maintain the progress I had made in the previous year. So I have continued to stick to a healthy diet (most of the time) and either walk or run every day. I do have days when I am fed up and struggle emotionally with the situation we are all in, but a walk or run in the fresh air always makes me feel better, however hard it might be to actually get out of that door!
I could go on and on about what I have learned this year, but I will just put some key words out there:
- Self-care
- Prioritising
- Learning
- Growth
– all these things help to build the buzziest of current buzz words: Resilience
I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and celebrate the long awaited end of 2020, and hope to have a chance to meet in 2021, maybe even face to face!