Following on from the last instalment where I talked about the other animals that we can be, I wanted to expand on this idea a bit more and make clear if I did not do so before that our experiences as other animals can be beneficial in our progression towards becoming a giraffe.

As I have said before, the path towards me becoming a giraffe has not been straight and still takes a few turn offs now and again. I have made plenty of mistakes and I have worked myself so hard that I have made myself feel unwell both physically and mentally however I am still grateful for these times because without them, I would not have been able to make the positive changes that I am starting to make and adopt more healthier habits.

Another way that I thought might be helpful for explaining this is the principle of black box thinking. This idea comes from a book written by Matthew Syed, and comes from ideas from the aviation industry where mistakes are not seen as failure but are learned from rather than covered up and appropriate measures are put in place to make sure that these mistakes do not happen again. His main ideas include that the biggest obstacle to progress is not learning from our mistakes and it is only through thorough investigation and when we do learn from these mistakes that we start to progress and become more creative and resilient. This has been difficult for me writing about this at this particular time as I have had my first couple of counselling sessions where I have found that comforting some of my issues, some that I hadn’t even though about much before, can be very confronting and painful. That being said, in relation to self-confidence, do not be afraid to make a few mistakes now and again, first of all because we are all human and likely not to be the first or the last one to make that mistake but also to see where you can put things right when things are not working.

Although, I’m sure my experiences will not be the exact same as yours, I hope that the things that I share with you about the changes that I have made and plan on making to manage my dips in self-confidence will still be helpful in some way such as the people I have surrounded myself with and how I use my time.

Thanks again for reading this and I hope you found it helpful and again if I have any thoughts/feedback on what I have said, feel free to get in touch with me.

Until next time

Kathryn