I work with a lot of senior and successful leaders in the public and third sectors who often have an inner experience of ‘what if I was found out’, ‘what if others really knew’ as though they have a false self which is out in the world and their internal sense is very different. I was working with a client recently who found that her sisters, all of whom are as successful as she is, feel the same as her, that they made it in spite of themselves, that they don’t deserve their salary and they are just waiting for it all to be exposed. Often early messages in childhood lead us to make these decisions about ourselves and we them particularly triggered by authority figures. Owning our own experience is really important and noticing these patterns is the first step towards self-acceptance.
