Wholesome Wednesdays (WW): Bringing you curated positive content on Wednesdays to uplift your hump day. 

Ever said, “nah, I was just lucky” when someone else lauded us for our achievements? Deep down, we may feel like a fraud who pulled a trick to fool others of our success. Fake it until we make it. But with Imposter syndrome, we don’t ever ‘make it’. If you wonder why we feel this and how we can stop holding ourselves back, here are two resources that examine different angles of self-belief and true confidence:

1. Feeling lousy about yourself? You are not so different from your CEO.
2. True confidence stems from self-knowledge.

Feeling lousy about yourself? You are not so different from your CEO.

What’s going on here & Why we like it

The School of Life, a global organisation that helps people lead more fulfilling lives, candidly explains the root of the Imposter Syndrome: our ‘unique’ experience of anxiety while endeavouring difficult roles rarely gels with the distorted impressions of successful others. This distortion stems from our childhood, when we could not fathom competent adults ever having the experiences and woes of children like us. 

With the limited visibility we have on other people’s treacherous journeys towards success, we placed these figures on a pedestal. We reckoned that we would never truly be like them. Yet, this whimsical video encourages us to take a leap of faith, by recognising that all humans are bounded by the same physiology and psychology. 

Collectively, we are subjected to universal emotions when faced with challenges. By extension, we too hold the same potential to excel and develop greatness as those we admire.

“Kings and philosophers sh*t and so do ladies.”

Wise Steps

• Recognise that your impression of others is distorted: you do not have full knowledge of their woes and hardships that preceded their successes.
  
• When the sense of fraud or anxiety kicks in, recollect that someone successful you admire is likely to experience similar emotions as you did. Those feelings are valid and are part of the human condition.
  
• Remind yourself that you possess the same potential as this person to succeed. Just like them, whatever you have achieved is a result of your personal efforts.

Check out the video here or below!

True confidence stems from self-knowledge.

What’s going on here & Why we like it

Master Sheng Yen, a late Zen master of Chinese Buddhism, illustrates how we can build true confidence by starting to understand our own capabilities and imperfections. The more we recognise our imperfections, the more we can turn them into opportunities for growth. With self-awareness of our limits, we can undertake appropriate challenges within our field of speciality, which we should strive to learn its knowledge and practise the relevant skills.

“Since one should know what one knows and what one doesn’t know, it’s OK. So, when I address thousands of people, or tens of thousands of people, I’m not afraid at all. Why? Because I believe in the content of my speech. I only say things I understand, I won’t talk irresponsibly about what I don’t understand. If some people disagree with me, I welcome their opinion, because they have their own reasoning. So why should I be afraid?”

Wise Steps

• Take some quiet time to examine your strengths and weaknesses objectively.
• By understanding your own knowledge, qualities and capabilities (to be true), you would not be swayed by differing opinions from others.
• Maintain a learning and open attitude towards your field of speciality while grasping basic concepts of other fields.

Check out the video here or below!