I’ve always thought that words of affirmation aren’t my forte. It’s not because I’m bad with words, but because I’m bad at receiving them. When people say, “You’re the best,” or “I’m proud of you,” those words don’t really affect me. It’s not that I don’t trust them—I know that I’m capable and good at what I do. The problem is that I rarely feel like I’m doing well or giving my absolute best. I vividly remember feeling sad during my university graduation ceremony. I was confused when I saw my friends looking so happy after the university announced that we had passed, because to me, it felt like a given. Nothing special—it was simply something that was expected to happen. On the other hand, I knew how hard I had worked on my thesis; I wrote it with my blood, sweat, and tears. Yet, I still couldn’t feel proud of myself. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to find a way to genuinely feel proud of who I am. For years, I tested a personal hypothesis. I thought that in order to feel pr...