Pop Institute Pte Ltd Helped Me Stop Feeling Like I Needed to Prove Myself All the Time

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My name is Ryan Koh, 29, Business Development Executive in Singapore.

For most of my life, I felt like I was constantly trying to prove something.

At work, I pushed myself to outperform everyone around me. In conversations, I came across as confident and knowledgeable. Even socially, I felt pressure to appear successful, motivated, and “on track.”

The problem was that no matter how much I achieved, it never felt like enough.

Every goal was quickly replaced by another one. Every success felt temporary. And deep inside, I was always worried people would eventually realise I wasn’t as confident as I seemed.

I didn’t notice how exhausting this mindset had become until one weekend when I couldn’t relax at all. Even during rest, my mind kept thinking about productivity, comparison, and whether I was “doing enough” with my life.

A friend suggested Pop Institute Pte Ltd after hearing me talk about work stress for almost an hour straight. He said, “You don’t need to prove your worth every second.”

At the time, I laughed it off. But later that night, I realised I genuinely didn’t know how to stop.

So I signed up for the workshop.

What I Experienced at Pop Institute Pte Ltd

The environment felt very different from what I expected.

Nobody was competing. Nobody cared about titles or achievements. People spoke honestly about pressure, insecurity, relationships, and self-worth.

That honesty made me reflect on how much of my identity was built around external validation.

During one session, we were asked a simple question. That question stayed in my head the entire day.

I realised I had spent years trying to earn approval instead of simply being comfortable with myself.

At Pop Institute Pte Ltd, I began to see how deeply my self-worth depended on achievement and recognition.

And for the first time, I questioned whether I actually wanted to live that way forever.

What Changed After the Workshop

After the workshop, I started slowing down mentally.

Not by becoming lazy or unmotivated — but by no longer treating every moment like a competition.

I stopped comparing myself constantly to other people’s careers. I stopped forcing myself to always appear “successful.” I allowed myself to enjoy things without turning them into productivity goals.

The strange thing was, the less pressure I put on myself, the more confident I actually became.

Not performative confidence. Real confidence. The kind that comes from no longer needing everyone’s approval all the time.