‘I now know I’m not a fraud’

How winning a completer medal taught Louise Prideaux she’s good enough, and WILL defeat imposter syndrome.

‘I’ve been relatively successful in my career, yet for years this sinking, anxious feeling woke me up in the night to tell me I’m not good enough – that I’m a fraud who’s about to be found out.

‘It’s held me back in achieving, in relationships, being comfortable in my own skin. But when my 1500-mile medal arrived in the post (my sixth year of the challenge and my highest mileage yet), the word ‘completer’ leapt out at me. It hit me that that’s what I was and that’s what I am.

‘#walk1000miles has given me an objective goal; one I can look at, record, and know I’m not an imposter. I’m a completer. I tell myself this every single day, and every time I pull on my boots and step out of the front door I remind myself I can go the distance.

‘I love logging my miles every day, week, and month. This year I’m using my Walker’s Calendar to do that and I’m writing a short description of the walks every day. It gives me daily goals and completions, and that’s really important for my mental health.

‘I heard a phrase recently that really struck me: every action you take is a vote for who you want to be. Well I want to be a completer. And the action of putting one foot in front of the other every day, adding mile to mile, is a massive vote for who I want to be.’

IS A MEDAL WHAT YOU NEED?

500-2000 miles available: www.walk1000miles.co.uk/shop