When I was younger, I used to resent people who were accomplishing things that I believed I deserved but lacked. I would have never admitted to it back then, but now I realize that I had become a hater!
That realization was one of the reasons I took a break from social media a few years ago. I needed a hard reset, so I began focusing on the now. Among the many things that I learned to let go of was the competitive mindset.
A mistake that most freelancers make is to think of other colleagues in their industry as "their competition." It's hard not to compare oneself to others in today's world. Most of us take to social media to flaunt our successes.
While I think that celebrating victories is healthy, it may trigger jealousy and impostor syndrome among our peers. These behaviors are natural to a certain extent, but they can ruin relationships if not addressed properly.
One of the things that helped me was to think of my fellow translation professionals as allies. I realized that, although many of us share common traits and stories, we're all unique. Each of us are in a different stage of our paths.
That's why comparing oneself to others is not a good idea because we would mostly be making wrong assumptions. Not only do we see what we want to see, but we also get to see what others allow us to see – and that's never the whole story.
Besides sharing my victories with my personal and professional network, I've learned to celebrate others as well. I like to think of all of us as stars shining in the sky, where there's room for everybody to shine.
Anxiety has been present throughout most of my life since I was a kid. It used to trouble me a lot, especially after I quit smoking in 2014, but I eventually learned a few techniques to manage it and minimize its impact.
Just like I've accepted anxiety in my life, I've also agreed to feel impostorism once in a while. Impostor syndrome can be viewed in a positive light. To succeed, one may have to deal with feeling like a fraud at times.
After all, most of us who struggle with that feeling are likely striving to do our best. We need to keep doing it. There may be someone better than you, but they will not be you!
We also have to accept that we're not always going to have everybody's back – and that's okay. Some relationships are never meant to happen. We need to stop assigning ourselves a specific value based on how a stranger values us.
If someone doesn't get you, they likely don't deserve you.
And if you ever find yourself wanting to dim someone else's light, remember that there are healthier ways to make yourself shine brighter.