If you haven’t heard of the impostor syndrome, you better get around to know more about it. The term itself was coined in the 1970s because researchers found that a lot of people were concerned about not being good enough.

Work Through Your Impostor Syndrome In Life And Love

Essentially, the impostor syndrome is rooted in the belief that a person is pretending to be someone he or she is not (even though the opposite can be true). Today, in the age of technology, experts say that the impostor syndrome is felt even more.

We all have easy access to social media. Every one of us can see and keep track of people’s lives. You might question where you are right now because you saw a younger person running a big company all on his or her own.

This is what this syndrome does to us – it makes us stop and think whether we are just pretending to be our best selves. Deep down inside, we may feel like we’re simply inadequate. This feeling extends to all aspects of one’s life, not just the love department.

Impostor Syndrome Symptoms

To see if you have this syndrome, read the scenarios below and check if they seem familiar to you:

• You’re worried that your boss or significant other might find out that you’re not a good employee or person.
• You only feel like you did well on something when you get confirmation from those around you.
• You don’t feel comfortable when someone passes you a compliment.

Why Is This A Problem?

If we feel that we are not good enough, there’s a chance that this perspective might mess up our love lives. It will likely mess up our personal relationships and our careers as well. You have to recognize that there’s a difference between wanting to improve yourself and believing that you are not good enough. To get past this nasty syndrome, consider the following tips:

• Say thank you when your partner or anyone gives you a compliment.
• Take on hobbies that will make you feel accomplished. Yoga, for example, helps you get more in-tune with your inside self. Hiking is a good way to have that sense of achievement too.
• Don’t fake it! Having the mentioned syndrome could make you do things to appear better. No, stop it. Just be yourself and accept that it is good enough.

Everyone has the impostor syndrome. We just have varying levels of how deeply we feel it within us. To get rid of it totally, it’s important that you work on your self-awareness and self-perspective. For more tips on self-improvement, read other posts on the blog.

We are currently living in a world saturated with the use of social media. Whether we want to admit it or not, this additional aspect of our lives has made things more complicated, not just in our friendships and professional connections but also, in our love lives. Are there social media rules that we need to follow as couples?

Essential Social Media Rules In Relationships

For old couples (couples who have been together for years), the social media rules may have already been established even if there was no formal talk about it. However, for the new ones, they have to be aware of their social media activity so as not to disrupt the continuity of the budding relationship:

1. Hold off on making that relationship request.

When you are happy about the relationship you’re currently in, you definitely want to let the entire world know that you are with somebody. Do not do this just yet. Yes, you’re technically in a relationship but you have to be sure that this person is serious about everything. Never give out a relationship request or change your status on social media unless you are 100% sure that you are formally a couple.

2. Don’t mind his/her ex’s activities.

Is the ex bothering your partner constantly with a bombardment of likes? Don’t mind it if your partner isn’t saying anything. However, if your love is sharing uncomfortable feelings about his/her ex lurking on all the social media accounts, it’s time you talk about what the best course of action is. Blocking the ex could work.

3. Easy on the comments.

Of course, you want to interact with your partner online as much as you are interacting in real life. You might be tempted to flood your partner’s social media with comments about how you’re agreeing with the post or with a dozen emojis. Stop right there. Just like how we need to give our partner’s space in real life, we also need to give them space online.

4. Put your phone down.

Yup, this is also a social media rule that you need to follow. As often as you can, you have to concentrate on building the relationship rather than concentrating on what you need to do on social media as a couple.

Follow all of these four social media rules and your relationship will be just fine. Share this post with new couples so they know exactly what they need to do. For more tips, check out other posts on our blog.

Rejection is something that never feels great. In dating, when you are rejected online, you may feel like you’re not good enough or you’re not worth giving a chance to. It stings! And, when you really feel rejected, you could start acting out without noticing it.

When We Feel Rejected, We Unconsciously Respond To The Emotion In The Following Ways

No one ever wants to be rejected – it’s natural to think this way. However, experiencing rejection could be a chance for us to learn something about ourselves and others. The problem is, we don’t always look at rejection as a learning experience. We have a very negative perspective of the feeling which causes most of us to:

Withdraw From The Cause Of Our Rejection

For example, when your online dating experience has brought nothing but rejection, you may decide to do less of it. You may not put effort into finding a match because, at the back of your mind, you know what’s going to happen next.

Fear Grows As Our Courage Diminishes

Every time we feel rejected, the fear within us grows. The next time an opportunity presents itself – a person showing interest on a dating site – we are hesitant to grab the chance because of the fear that has developed within us.

Second Guessing Yourself

Earlier, it was mentioned that rejections can make us feel like we are not good enough. Together with the fear and withdrawal, rejection also targets our self-esteem. This could make us question our positive aspects.

These outcomes are the reasons why we need to approach rejection in a much healthier way. If we don’t, we could lead ourselves to a path of self-destruction. Consider the following tips:

• Change your perspective about rejection.
• Accept that you are not everyone’s cup of tea.
• Take up a new hobby.
• Travel and meet new people.
• Focus on improving yourself (exercise, read a book, learn a new skill)

We cannot stop people from rejecting us, but we can always do something about how we react to being rejected. For more tips on self-improvement, read other posts on our blog.

Our pursuit of happiness is infinite, some believe. In order to be happy, you have to decide, first, to make that decision every day and then work towards it. At least, that’s what most experts will tell you. A new research, however, may have the key to true joy as it reveals happiness rituals that anyone can do.

Neuroscience Recommends Four Happiness Rituals

UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex Korb may have the answers to the question: “How can we be happy?” Korb and his team did an observation about the gray matter in our heads, and here are the happiness rituals they have discovered:

1. Gratitude

The age-old technique of thinking about what you are grateful for when you are down might just have a better effect on our brain than we imagine. If we are feeling down or are worried about something, the best thing to do is not to focus on the negative but on the positive. Ask yourself what you can be grateful for despite your problems or worries. Researchers explain that anti-depressants are taken by those who are depressed so that dopamine in their brains is increased. Gratitude has a similar effect.

2. Label Your Feelings

What, exactly, are you feeling right now? Are you anxious, sad, or angry? When you have identified your emotion, your brain does a better job at processing it. It lessens the emotion’s impact. This was proven via MRI.

3. Make A Decision

Based on the research, your brain will finally feel at rest when you have made a decision to do something about what you feel. For example, you are worried about your finances. To make yourself feel less stressed, you can make a financial plan that spans out for a year. It has been proven that making decisions reduces worry and anxiety.

4. Touch

Is your loved one around? One of the happiness rituals that you need to do is to practice your sense of touch. Hug the person you’re with, kiss him or her, or just hold their hand. It helps us feel loved and accepted, and those are pretty good for your brain.

What does this research tell us? It says that happiness is achievable. Based on the happiness rituals, it’s possible for us to feel joy every day if we choose to. For more tips about self-improvement, read more from our blog.