February 3, 2021

Mélanie Boucarut

When you feel like a fraud, do even more of the new thing!

Our brain has evolved to keep us alive in the world of 100,000 years ago.

It is not amused when you try something new. In the cave world, new is dangerous. New is very likely to end in sudden, grisly death.

So your brain does its best to get you back to the safety of the familiar. It sends you thoughts that create emotions that make you freeze, hide, run away, procrastinate, overthink and altogether avoid doing the new task.

The only way to get rid of imposter’s syndrome is to make the unfamiliar familiar. Do MORE of the new activity until it becomes your “any given Tuesday”. Go AGAINST your instinct of hiding and playing it small.

The quicker you turn “New” into “Familiar”, the faster you’ll get rid of all this doubt.  Don’t indulge in second-guessing.

Don’t mull over “am I doing it right”. Just do it. And do more of it. Don’t just take a tiny step from the ledge; leap from it!

Somersault into the unknown. You’ll fail some, succeed some, and by trial and error learn how to do it just right.

More importantly, you’ll teach your brain that this new thing we’re doing? From now on, that’s just who we are.

No bad horses, only untrained riders 🐴

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