You will know when you have found a great mentor when it starts to feel slightly uncomfortable. You will know because a great mentor will not let you stay comfortable and they will also not let you shrink yourself, second-guess your value or keep playing at half your potential. That kind of self-limiting behavior bothers them. They have seen what you are capable of and so they will push you because they just don’t want to watch you settle.

Mentors like these will not always praise. And that’s because they know they are not here to only make you feel good, but to also help you grow. So instead of constant encouragement, you might hear things like, "Why are you doing it this way when you could be doing more?" It can come as a challenge as well, a confrontation or a reminder even. These are meant to shake you out of your excuses. And if you’ve had someone like that, then you know how confronting and necessary it can be. They’ll ask for more from you because they know you’ve stopped asking more from yourself.