The world of work can be very fun and very fulfilling but it will not always be very fair. There may be times when we will be responded to roughly, treated unfairly and dealt a hand that we didn't deserve. Or at least that’s what it can feel like. We can perceive experiences like these as a form of punishment and allow them to be hugely hindering.

In this week’s episode we discussed what was perceived as the worst punishment of the author’s life and how in dealing with this punishment, he was able to learn a new purpose of ‘punishment’.

"There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up" - John Holmes

Both in our personal and professional lives, we are blessed with opportunities to help others. The help we render may look different in each situation but the action is the same. When we assist another, we remove a load from this person and place it on ourselves. Whether that load be physical, mental or emotional it carries with it a weight. This weight may be negligible by itself but when compounded by others, it can begin to overburden the person who offered to help. As someone who has felt this overwhelm before and has been hurt by the help I offered, I've learnt that it is important to help others but it is essential safeguard yourself. So essential, that not doing this could actually lead to you getting fired ! Well that's what happened to me at least. In this episode I'll be sharing two experiences where I felt the hard consequences of overloading myself in an attempt to help and yes, one of them is the story of the first time I ever got fired from a job.

"I've run a game on everybody, and they're going to find me out," - Maya Angelou

Regardless of what path we are walking in our world of work, there are obstacles, challenges and changes that face us on our way. These opponents can lead to the development of internal thoughts, perspectives and feelings that based on their nature can derail us from our destination course. Each of these, on their own, have the ability to stop any young professional from pushing forward but when they all occur together, they become a paralyzing phenomenon. The specific, pervasive phenomenon that this episode speaks on is Imposter Syndrome - a universal experience of feeling like a fraud despite undeniable accomplishments. In this episode, the author shares two experiences that he had with Imposter Syndrome and the remedies that were given to him by some unexpected ‘doctors’. In so doing, he hopes that the medication prescribed to him will help the person who is dealing with and healing from Imposter Syndrome.

We will all inevitably face persons who stand before us and assess our potential based on our qualifications. In the absence of these, it is easy for a young professional to become discouraged if & when rejected by employers/colleagues/investors. The world says if you don’t have a qualification you aren’t qualified to work but in this episode, I submit that the quality of your experiences can qualify you to work in ways that traditional qualifications can not.