Self-esteem, performance anxiety, or plain feeling that we are not good enough can often be triggered by periods in life where we are challenged to measure up, be it at work, at college or university, or in our family or culture.
We compare ourselves to others and leave ourselves in deficit. Or, we compare ourselves to others and as a way of compensating for that perceived deficit, we aggrandise ourselves, we make ourselves that bit better, that bit more than other people around us. Both positions, though, are flawed and both positions run hollow.
A therapeutic relationship can gently re-establish a core belief within us that we are good enough, that we can do what we set out to do and we can have what we want in life.