Take pride in your value to the world

HAVE you ever noticed that it’s a curiously female trait to play down our biggest achievements?

You can probably hear the conversation in your head now – someone you know congratulates you on a job well done and you respond: “Oh thanks, it’s no big deal, really.”

That knock-out dress you’re wearing? “It’s just a cheap one from Primark.”

The three-course meal you slaved over all afternoon? “It’s a bit cold is it not? I probably should have used more salt in the sauce.”

It’s not the case for every woman, I’m sure – and I’ve no doubt some men are similarly afflicted. But it’s a trend I notice in many of my best friends… and a self-critical trap I can’t help but fall into now and then.

Four years ago, I started writing a book. It’s just a wee guidebook about Glasgow, I want to rush to tell you as I fall into those bad old habits. It’s no big deal, really.

I’ve spent the weeks following its launch night at a local Waterstones doing exactly that to anyone who asks. Friends who showed up on the night – some sneaking in the back, and telling me off because I hadn’t let them know it was happening in the first place – lined up for a signed copy and I obliged, a bit grudgingly, still bashful that they’d even want to crack the spine of this humble little paperback.

I can’t help but play down the work that went into every page, the rewriting required when Covid ground the whole world to a shuddering halt – not to mention the blood, sweat and tears that come from putting yourself out there, from making something with your name on it.

That’s what it comes down to, isn’t? I don’t know about you but I’m a bit of a perfectionist. If I’m making you dinner then you’re damn sure I’ll stick to a tried and tested recipe. If I’m putting together a new outfit then I want it to look brilliant from head to toe.

And yet I’m so afraid of failure that I’ll bat away compliments like Andy Murray sweating it out on the court, playing it all down just in case someone has something bad to say.

Ladies, it’s time we got over those hang-ups and told the world we’ve done something, anything of note.

I’ll admit I feel a wee swell of pride when I see a bookshop table groaning under the weight of shiny new books with my name on the front. Friends keep pinging over photos when they find a stockist and it’s a great feeling, regardless of all the anxieties about putting myself in the literary spotlight.

It’s not about the opinions of others or whether it’s a great work of art that will be remembered for decades. Be it a book, a funny 10-second TikTok video or last night’s dinner made from scratch, it’s about making, creating, showing the world what you’ve got to offer. It’s high time we owned those talents.