Gutta cavat lapidem

One topic that was raised and I would like to share with you is the so-called “imposter syndrome”. It can apply to both science and personal life and consists in doubting your abilities, usually in comparison to people around you. It may for example start when you fail in doing something and consequently you start seeing everyone else succeeding, thus entering a vicious loop which ends up killing your self-esteem and motivation. Many times you set your goals too high, without allowing yourself enough time to achieve them and without considering that you also need to let yourself disconnect to be able to work in a more productive and time-efficient way! Being ambitious is good, as long as it helps you progressing in your life and career and it does not make you spiral down this path.

I am of course very far from being an expert in this topic, but I thought it was worth sharing it – some of you might have interesting insights and points of view!

Gutta cavat lapidem (the drop hollows out the stone), not because of its strength but because of its consistency. You will achieve your goals if you keep up your perseverance even after tripping a few times along the way! And if you want to do it the scientific way, remember that if at first you don’t succeed, try two more times so that your failure is statistically significant ;).