Today would have been the start of @WBC2020 (delayed until Dec https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❄" title="Snowflake" aria-label="Emoji: Snowflake">), and I was (and still am) really looking forward to it!

Coincidentally, it& #39;s also @mentalhealth #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, so I& #39;ve ended up thinking about self kindness in academia. #AcademicChatter

Like a lot of academics, my mental health hasn& #39;t always been great.

I often feel like an imposter, and still worry I& #39;ve taken a fake it til you make it approach to self confidence (top tip: never give me a laser pointer during any type of presentation) https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👋" title="Waving hand" aria-label="Emoji: Waving hand">

Far smarter things have been said about what Oxbridge does to state school students than I& #39;ll manage, and I know I had privilege as a white, culturally middle class male.

But as someone who was driven as much by fear and shame of failure as love for my work, it nearly broke me.

Thankfully I learnt, slowly and often painfully, that not only do I love my work, more importantly I love myself.

And y& #39;know what? I am damn good at what I do. I& #39;m pretty awesome.

And anyone reading this, you& #39;re awesome too. #KindnessMatters for everyone, and the only way to get better is to practise. So find things to love about yourself!

I don& #39;t always find it easy! But I can genuinely recommend practising complimenting yourself, because you are great.

Whether it& #39;s a new thing you& #39;ve learnt; or a favourite pair of shoes that you look great in; or even just that you managed to reply to an email;

Find the small things that you like and celebrate them, even if it feels weird!

So in that spirit (and looping neatly back to @WBC2020) here& #39;s the outfit I want to wear to conference dinner (after a haircut!)

Is it daft? Yes. Will I look as good as @Hamishthecow? No chance. But I think it& #39;s cool and honestly, that& #39;s a kindness I never used to achieve https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❤" title="Red heart" aria-label="Emoji: Red heart">