Maybe I just got lucky? Did everyone else ace the test too? Was I the only one who applied? Did they just feel bad for me? Was there a curve? Is this a mistake?

These are the questions I ask myself every time I accomplish something. They are not questions that I actively think of when I seek out an opportunity or take an assessment. I just ask these questions out of habit because I automatically assume that I am not good enough to accomplish these achievements without them. I never give myself accurate credit for moments in which I succeed. I will not settle for this any longer and neither should you.

Undercutting your own success is a telltale sign of low self-confidence. If you can’t believe that the work you’ve put in has paid off, you must think that the work you are doing isn’t anything special. If you’re reading this now, know that if you earned that position you applied for or you received an award for something, you deserve it. You are your worst critic; you pick apart and overanalyze everything you do. It’s part of being human. However, it’s important that you understand that whoever it may be who interviewed you or graded your paper saw something or multiple things that you didn’t; and those things struck them the right way. That is why you accomplished what you did.

I’ve always believed in baby steps and the value of starting small. Everything small that you’ve ever done, even the simplest of things, has added up to this very moment. Every participation trophy, college scholarship, and compliment has made you the person you are right now. It may not seem like a lot, but these recognitions and achievements, no matter how tiny or insignificant you may perceive them to be, form the building blocks of who you are at this current moment in time.

Understanding that everything you’ve worked for or earned is cumulative is the first step toward giving yourself the credit that you deserve. Things you may not see as valid or important are more momentous than you think. Until you understand that your work paid off in those small instances, you will never be able to give yourself the credit you deserve when you accomplish something amazing.

Commemorate the little things. Celebrate the times that you did your homework days before it was due instead of the night before. Applaud yourself for doing better on a quiz than you thought you did. Award yourself for getting through the day because you did so. Until you understand how these minuscule accomplishments accumulate, you won’t be able to give yourself a deserving pat on the back for the things truly worth celebrating.

What you’ve just achieved, no matter how significant, is because of your own doing. Own it.