By Ymke Knaap
My colleagues at Perspectivity asked me to write a blog for the website. A very nice idea that I was certainly open to. But then it was time to put something down on paper… I don’t have the problem of having nothing to say. Believe me, I have plenty of opinions and visions about myself and the world I live in. But I got completely stuck and I didn’t know why. I looked at the amazing blogs already on the website for inspiration, but nothing came to mind. I was afraid that my creativity in this area was not enough. But when I started brainstorming with some friends and colleagues, plenty of ideas came to mind that seemed really fun. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to start writing. This brought me to the real reason why I was bothering myself so much: who is going to listen to a 22-year-old girl with hardly any experience in the business? What do I have to say in a blog that could be valuable to anyone else?
Trial and error
For some context: I am in my fourth year of Global Project and Change Management in Zwolle, and I am doing an internship at Perspectivity for my graduation thesis. I’m having a great time here, learning a lot and taking away a lot of experiences. It is also intimidating because of all the new elements, but everyone at Perspectivity has helped and supported me tremendously.
But back to my somewhat minor mental breakdown. After I had built up some courage I went with this feeling to Lisette, my ‘mentor’ at Perspectivity. I wasn’t nervous for her, but I was ashamed of being unsure of myself.
In the conversation, we shared stories about who we are and what we want to strive for. But also about the questions I had asked myself. What do we have to say? What is our position in the world? And how do we best use it to create value? Sharing stories with Lisette showed me that no one knows it all exactly, and that everyone feels uncertain about their own abilities. And that’s totally OK; again, you learn by trial and error.
Stories to connect
I am currently the wisest I have ever been, so striving for unattainable wisdom, knowledge and self-confidence is a battle I will always lose. ‘I hate to break it to myself, but there is no getting there. This is life happening right now.’ By living life you learn, and what you learn in the moment is enough. So, what I want to say is that no matter how insecure you feel about yourself, your story, full of all your knowledge, traumas, experiences, shortcomings and learning moments, has incredible value in this world. And sharing your story is the most powerful way to connect with others but also with yourself.