Transcript
Candy Valentino (0:06)
Welcome to the Candy Valentino show, the podcast for founders, investors and entrepreneurs where we have honest conversations about what it takes to grow your business, build more wealth, and create financial freedom.
Unknown (0:32)
Our five Minute Morning Episode today is brought to you by traineel. If you ever feel like you are constantly repeating yourself, answering the same questions, or solving low level problems in your business, that is because you have lack of processes. By centralizing business documentation and training materials, you can streamline operations and buy back some of your time. Having one place to document your company's policies and procedures and get new and existing employees all on the same page is going to save you endless headaches. I use Traineel for my businesses and you should too. Go to traineel.com candy for your free trial.
Unknown (1:13)
Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the five Minute Morning. Thanks for tuning in with me today. I was researching some stats on a topic that I wanted to cover today and I came across a TED Talk and I was really shocked to hear two different speakers, Elizabeth Cox and Valerie Rose, both talked about this and so I thought it was fascinating. I added it to the content and the research that we did for you today and so I wanted to share it. You know, many people know Maya angelou and the 11 influential books that she's written, the numerous prestigious awards that she has received. Many people would also be shocked that she grappled literally with this persistent feeling of self doubt. She was convinced that her achievements were truly not deserved. And similarly, Albert Einstein referred to himself in a similar way, feeling that his groundbreaking work didn't warrant the acclaim and the recognition that it received. And while their levels of accomplishment are extraordinary, the feeling of inadequacy that they experienced is something very common. More than 70% of people, high achievers or not, feel some sense of imposter syndrome in their life. Many individuals, regardless of their level of success, really struggle with this notion that they haven't truly earned their accolades, or they are not talented, or that their ideas are not worthy in this concept of the imposter syndrome, which I'm actually going to get into, why we shouldn't call it Imposter Syndrome syndrome, and all of the reasons why. But this concept was first explored by psychologist Pauline Rose Clance, who during her work as a therapist observed this trend among her patients that despite their high grades and their achievements, that they felt unworthy. They feared that they had mistakenly secured their place at the university, that their acceptance was an error. And Clance recognized that these sediments were unfounded. Yet she too had the same feeling about her own studies, she shared this experience, which later was labeled as the imposter phenomenon or the impostor experience, and then ended up being called the imposter syndrome, which actually makes it sound like a psychological struggle in which it's not. Clantz, originally in the research, called it imposterism and that it was profoundly dominant in female college students and faculty. However, this can exist across genders, races, ages, professions, and it doesn't matter what area of the country you live in or how much money you make. Imposterism or imposter syndrome can affect anyone. However, the reason that they don't like to call it imposter syndrome is because it's not a disease, it's not an abnormality, nor is it linked to mental health like depression or anxiety. What actually fuels these feelings of inadequacy is highly skilled people who often perceive their peers as equally competent, which can create this distorted reality and leads you to believe that you are not deserving of the recognition or the opportunities that you have. And interestingly enough, both Angelou and Einstein demonstrated this, that regardless of your level of achievement, it does not guarantee that you won't feel this way. And for so long. They said that one of the most effective strategies to combat this is to really talk about it, to have open dialogue, to seek feedback on your performance, to validate that these are just insecurities and they're not actually real. However, as of most recently, they determined that talking about it is not just the way to solve it. Of course, it's important to understand that many people struggle with the same thing so that you know that you're not alone. But talking about it isn't really the answer. You think about it if you want to get in better health or you want to lose weight, like talking about it isn't going to change anything. We actually have to do something about it. So although awareness can help us with this experience, it's also important to reframe what we think to understand that you are talented, that you are capable, that you do belong, and really challenge negative thoughts, negative self talk. When you notice something popping in, take a moment and examine that thought. Ask yourself, is this thought based on facts, assumptions? Would I actually say this to a friend? Would anybody else say this about this achievement or this accomplishment? Having this critical evaluation can really help you see how your self doubt can be irrational. And if this is something that you really struggle with and you really want to kick this, you want to beat it, the best thing I can tell you to do is to keep a journal. Focus on the evidence. Document your achievements. Store positive feedback or testimonials when you get them so that when the feelings of fraudulency arises that you you can look back at this journal and remind yourself of who you are, what you're capable of, what you've actually accomplished. Instead of waiting for these significant moments to occur to validate your worth, make sure that you recognize and celebrate small milestones. Practicing this will really shift your focus from seeking perfectionism to really acknowledging progress. And understand that these feelings of feeling like an imposter may never fully disappear completely. But adopting these strategies can really help you reframe your thoughts and foster a healthier self image. Realizing that you are worthy, you're enough, you're capable, you're competent, you belong, and you're not alone. You have done great things. You are doing great things and you are going to continue to do great.