Wise Wednesdays

“Are you happy?”… What do you say when asked this question? Do you gush about how awesome everything is in your life? Do you enumerate your blessings and make a point of how lucky you are? Or do you blink and mumble something to change the subject? If you don’t know how to answer, you are perfectly normal.     As someone with imposter syndrome, the question has always raised the hair on the back of my neck. Plus, coming from Algeria where one isn’t supposed to attract attention to one’s good fortune but bond through existential despair, the question seemed almost nonsensical. Of course, it can be asked out of genuine concern for your wellbeing. But it is often taken as a legimate question to measure and compare success in life. However… The question itself is flawed. Why? Because it suggests that happiness is a fixed state that one reaches and stays at. What’s more external circumstances don’t correlate directly to your inner-state.You’ve probably had the ph...

“When I won the Oscar, I thought it was a fluke. I thought everybody would find out, and they’d take it back. They’d come to my house, knocking on the door, ‘Excuse me, we meant to give that to someone else. That was going to Meryl Streep.’” Jodie Foster “You think, ‘Why would anyone want to see me again in a movie? And I don’t know how to act anyway, so why am I doing this?’” Meryl Streep Do you ever struggle to accept that you deserve your success? Feel uncomfortable when someone bigs you up at work? Worry that you’re going to be found out as a fraud who doesn’t really know what they’re doing?... The diagnosis here is cut and dried...  You've got imposter syndrome.  But you knew that already, right? You're in pretty good company here, as the likes of Kate Winslet & Sheryl Sandberg are also self-confessed sufferers. As with many diagnoses, burying your head in the sand isn't an option if you want to make a full recovery. (And...