We Are Remarkable
Last week I went to a Women of Tech event where I had the opportunity to learn about the “I am Remarkable” program. This initiative started at Google empowering women and underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond. The aim is to help others improve their self-promotion motivation and skills. A lot of us often struggle finding ways to talk about our accomplishments. A lot of times talking about one’s achievements can come off as showing off and this event was there to change our perception.
In the beginning of the seminar, the two leaders shared some quotes that I want to share with you all.
It’s not bragging if it’s a fact.
Accomplishments do not speak for themselves.
That's when it started hitting me. It's all true: how will people know what I am capable of if I don't talk about my accomplishments? This is especially relevant when you start a new job or move to a new city.
We were then asked to participate in an activity asking us to write down all the things that we think are remarkable about ourselves. The only rule being: every sentence should begin with "I am remarkable because...". We were given 7 minutes to create our list. We were encouraged to continue writing even when we ran out of ideas. Our brains were exercised to dive deeper and find proud worthy instances. This was supposed to be an empowering exercise to help ourselves see how amazing we truly are. But I struggled. A lot. I wrote down a couple of things such as:
I am remarkable because I graduated from a top engineering school
I am remarkable because I accepted a job in one of the most challenging sales programs in the world.
I am remarkable because I work hard to achieve the things I want
After those three bullet points, I couldn't think of anything.
I am remarkable because... am I remarkable?
I instead started to question everything. Was I even remarkable? I stopped. I looked around and everyone was busy writing away. I thought to myself: wow, everyone is so remarkable; why can't I think of anything remarkable about myself?
It was an eye opening moment where I realized how we’ve just grown up this way. We are taught to celebrate others achievements but when it comes to us, we treat ourselves so harshly. We don't appreciate any of it at all. I remember when I passed my exams and got my first networking certification, I wasn’t immediately ecstatic. I kept comparing myself to others. Instead of being proud of myself, I was more proud of them. I never took a moment to congratulate myself. Upon realizing how harmful this is, I have made a pact to keep reminding myself how awesome I am.
Eventually they shared some tips on how one can self promote. I hope that you find these useful and start applying it to your daily life.
Think of talking about your accomplishments like a muscle. You need to exercise it consistently to become comfortable with yourself
Look up to your role models and see how they speak about themselves and about what they have done in the past. (watch their YouTube videos, TedTalks, and Instagram Reels)
Be patient with yourself. You will find your voice naturally over time
"Remarkable Wednesdays" Get a group of people together to share an achievement out loud
Practice, practice, practice. Express 2-3 achievements in a professional environment
Attend a session! Here is the link to learn more: https://iamremarkable.withgoogle.com/
I definitely plan on applying some of these practices in my everyday life. I know times can get rough especially when you stop believing in yourself. Just like when I was doing the exercise and couldn't think about anything remarkable about me. I want to let you know that that's not true. Not for me, not for you.
you are remarkable.