Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware 15: Doubt That You Deserve Rewards

Saturdays we share a tip or cautions to facilitate getting scholarships or avoiding problems
Becky did not excel in high school. She felt she was an average student. She ran for student body office and lost. She tried for the school choir and did not succeed. She was able to wear the national honor society stole and honors society sash at her graduation. She applied for a few scholarships, but downplayed her accomplishments in her master application. Her failure to receive any scholarships confirmed her opinion that she did not deserve any rewards.

Why We Understate Our Accomplishments

Life programs us to understate our accomplishments and contributions in life. We naturally feel uncomfortable saying good things about ourselves. We’ve prepared thousands of people to find jobs. We help them prepare value statements for their resumes, phone calls, and interviews. Then, we make them practice saying the value statements as answers to questions or in phone scripts.
They describe their feelings of discomfort when they have to say good things about themselves. We recognize that most of certain generations are programmed to hesitate saying good things about themselves. It follows them through life:

• Most parents instruct young children “Don’t brag” when they say good things about themselves
• Junior high school friends label others as “Stuck up”, “Conceited”, “Full of yourself”, and worse when  they say good things about their accomplishments
• Adults remonstrate one another with “Don’t be proud” or “Be humble”

Most Doubt Ourselves

Most of us tend to doubt that we deserve good things in life. We feel inadequate, normal, or mediocre. We can see the value in others, but discount our own value. Many of us readily feel we deserve trials in our life.
We warn you to resist the tendency to understate your accomplishments. We caution you to believe in yourself and doubt not. Allow the truth of your value statements to lift your spirits. Accept them. Own them. Say them out loud. Write them. Read them. Believe that you deserve good things. 
Tuesday we describe the federal 529 educational savings plan as a source of financial aid