Courage to Get in the Arena

Do you ever feel like an imposter?

Whether you are crushing it in your work or still on your journey up the mountain, it's a common human phenomenon to feel like an imposter. And the more you feel like an imposter, the more hyper-aware you are of the critic.

Many people can spend their lives stuck in the energy-depleting loop of always hiding, so they never get called out by the critic.

And then there is a smaller group that just chooses to get good at dealing with imposter syndrome – keep doing the thing they are scared of and leave the voices of their critics far behind.

I know this experience inside and out. I have totally felt like an imposter at times in my life. At times, I still feel it, but I know that this is all just part of being an evolving leader.

And the more I grow, the more new edges I come up against, and it's the imposter syndrome all over again, just this time at a higher level. But, if I look at how far I have come in the last several years, it becomes clear what a great distance I have traveled.

Because I'm constantly in motion – growing, innovating – people are often surprised to hear that I have felt like an imposter. Yet, both can exist simultaneously.

The trick is that I don't wait for my imposter syndrome to go away. Instead, I'm continually building up the emotional courage to keep moving through that dark cloud of fear that my ego creates to protect itself.

To stumble, do things wrong, and continue to show up… That is something to feel proud of!

Theodore Roosevelt said some beautiful things about the critic vs. the creator: "If he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Suffice to say, to never dare is to die inside, while to take the risk, regardless of the outcome, is to live greatly.

That's why being a leader is one of the greatest inner and outer journeys we can ever embark on. The good news is that you don't have to swim in this ocean alone, and if you need some help, that's what I'm here for.

And make sure to check out my podcast, The Virtual Campfire - here are some exciting past episodes below!

Is there a science behind confidence? It turns out, there is. Listen in to my conversation with Alyssa Dver as we discuss the "confident brain" here.

Alice Bromage has learned leadership in one of the most challenging places to learn in. The military. Join us as we discuss what leadership in the armed forces translates to in the civilian world here.

Fulfillment is a never ending quest for many of us. For Scott Stolze, empathy and kindness in both the workplace and through volunteering have provided ample fulfillment as we discuss here.