Good morning everyone, I hope we had all had an amazing weekend! I’m going into this week particularly pumped because we finally got around to watching Kpop Demon Hunters and for those who have not seen it yet, it is one of those few phenomenon that truly lives up to the hype. We laughed, we cried, and we were singing and dancing to all of the songs (there isn’t a single song that is not a banger). At one point we had paused the movie to restock on snacks and my exact phrase was, “We are 37 minutes in and I’m already looking forward to watching it again.” So if you are looking for a new movie to obsess over, not to mention a soundtrack to add to your playlist, this is it. So please, watch it and let us know your favorite parts because why not make that into some amazing water cooler talk.
My topic this morning is why do some of us have such issues being able to be proud and happy of our successes? I am not talking about those in our offices who make it known every time they close a big sale, or are straight up bragging about their successes. I am looking at the employees who are potentially some of the most successful people in the office who simply do their job and let any praise fall between the cracks. My company has a recognition system where employees can specifically give public credit to colleagues who truly helped them. Not to brag but I have received quite a few of them and I will say that yes, they routinely come from employees who I spent a great deal of time with helping with their problems or questions. But I normally do not talk about those successes because I see it as me simply doing my job, but this system is nice because I am proud of many of those instances and that feedback does make it easier for me to talk about them with my leader.
In my research I came across something called “imposter syndrome” which is defined as someone who has psychological instances of feeling inadequacy and self-doubt, to the point that any success in their life is seen as a form of fraud. I’m not sure that I have it to that degree, but it is true that I have problems talking about myself in that way. Taking this blog as an example, my biggest struggle is self promotion. I feel awkward trying to promote my writing on social media out of a combination of assuming it will only be responded with negative feedback as well as I do not want to be seen as one of the many “influencers” in the market promoting their false personas.
But these feelings an go beyond just the workplace and into our personal lives and learning to be happy for ourselves. Recently I was speaking with a friend of mine who got a brand new job which is a huge step up for them. I was so excited for them and insisted we celebrate, but they had issues trying to do that. Despite being given this opportunity they suddenly doubted how much they deserved and began to tear themselves down in a time that should be a moment of celebration. Even worse, they felt guilty about being happy because this was going to mean leaving their now previous company because they felt their leader and colleagues would see this as a betrayal. I found an article from Fiorenza Rossini who explains this happens quite a bit when someone is leaving a company. If you have been there long enough, you see this moment almost like breaking up a family. Almost as if you owe your allegiance to them above all else.1 But what is important to remember is that at the end of the day, this is your career and you need to do what is best for you. If my friend is reading this, this is a moment of success that you have worked for, deserve, and you are entitled to be happy for yourself.
This post is not to prompt people to start bragging and become that obnoxious employee that no one likes. Instead, take the time to take pride in your successes and let your friends and family celebrate with you. Did you finally publish that book you were working on? Close a big sale? Get a brand new job? Finish school? Maybe you just plain had a great interaction at work where you walked away feeling good for the work you did. Take a bit of credit and be proud of what you accomplished. Meredith Fineman explains in an article of hers that while shamelessly bragging can be bad, what can also be dangerous to our career are “humble brags.” That is where you talk about an accomplishment, but combine it with some self deprecation and leaders can see this as us not taking pride in our work. It takes confidence to be able to promote ourselves and that is an important skill people need if they hope to work themselves up.2
So learn to be proud of your work, and be able to be happy when you accomplish something. My personal goal this week is to do better about self promoting my work here with Breakroom Breakdown. I have diligently been working on this for more than two years and am moving it to a podcast. All of this is a lot of work which many people would have given up on already. If any of you have gone through this is the past, why don’t you share what you have done to work on your self promotion and the ability to be happy for your accomplishments. While you will find plenty of resources online, start with this article from Yesel Yoon Ph.D. who talks about acknowledging the “myths” that we tell ourselves which only serve to break down our confidence. She then gives us tools to practice in order to build our confidence and accept compliments, retraining our brains and our reactions when someone gives us positive feedback.3
I wish you all a great Monday, lets take this week on by the horns and kick butt!
- Rossini, F. (2024, November 11). How to manage career change guilt? LinkedIn. Retrieved September 21, 2025, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-manage-career-change-guilt-fiorenza-rossini-pcc-2a1qe/ ↩︎
- Fineman, M. (2015, November 18). Are You Sabotaging Your Accomplishments by the Way You Talk About Them? Inc. Retrieved September 21, 2025, from https://www.inc.com/meredith-fineman/are-you-sabotaging-your-accomplishments-by-the-way-you-talk-about-them.html ↩︎
- Yoon, Y., Ph.D. (2024, July 24). How to Overcome Insecurity and Accept Compliments. Psychology Today. Retrieved September 21, 2025, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/on-second-thought/202407/how-to-overcome-feelings-of-insecurity ↩︎
