My 22-year-old daughter is graduating college this weekend. She’s landed a great job in a new city with a very well known company. We are all thrilled, mostly because we are getting her off of our payroll soon. When she first got the job, my daughter talked about having imposter syndrome, feeling as if she might not be qualified for such a fabulous job. As her mother, with a completely unbiased point of view, I knew that she deserved the position. I looked forward to her seeing that as well. Recently, she told me that the imposter syndrome was starting to evaporate as she has matured and gained more confidence in herself.

I told one of my clients who was going through a challenging time that I so admired and respected her. I said, “Your creativity and energy shines through everything you do. I can’t wait for you to see it too.” My client got emotional when I said that and admitted that she was having trouble seeing and owning her own greatness. How true is that for so many of us?

Learning How to See Your Greatness

We see greatness in others all the time. We recognize it and sometimes we are jealous of it, sometimes proud, and sometimes insecure because of it. All of those are perfectly natural responses and yet, how come we can’t see the greatness in ourselves? Have we been programmed to not identify our own strengths and gifts? Is it scary for us to look at our own greatness because then we might actually want to do something fabulous with it? 

What if you made a list of all of the things that you do well? What if you wrote down the compliments that others have given you about yourself and what if you started to actually believe them? What would be different in your life if you knew and acknowledged your own unique greatness? How much greatness are you leaving on the table because you aren’t comfortable owning it?

I’ve yet to meet a client who didn’t have some unique gift or characteristic that made them absolutely great. I see this greatness easily and almost immediately, but most of my clients don’t. It’s a common theme that we can’t recognize our own value and wonderfulness. I often think to myself, “I can’t wait for them to see how truly wonderful they really are.” And when my clients start to see that in themselves, it’s magic. 

Love,

Lisa Kaplin Psy. D. PCC