Only the Good Doubt Young.

The challenge with smart people is that I they are painfully aware of their shortcomings and hold themselves up to idealized standards. Those brilliant people fear letting others down and never doing enough.

One of them recently shared that she felt guilty about not having enough time for her partner. She is the only senior female in her company and is finishing her master's while also part-time advising her school pro bono on DEI.??

Another with multiple degrees in unrelated fields who successfully bridged both in a business wonders if he should have been better off as an expert in one field and feels guilty about following his passion in life.

Let's remember the?Greek hero Achilles.

Achilles' was the son of a goddess and a human; as such, Achilles was born a human.?

Thetis wanting to shield her son from danger —maybe History's first helicopter mom— dipped him in the Styx river to make his whole body invincible.?

Because she held him by his heel, it didn't touch the water and stayed vulnerable.

I call my clients Achilles because, like the hero, they have super-powered problem-solving minds and a vulnerable spot.?

First,?the superpowers:?

Achilles have a natural form of intelligence: either great memory, ease of understanding concepts, capacity to recognize and spot patterns, or spatial awareness.?

?Achilles' high integrity gives them a deep desire to understand and solve world problems, prioritizing others over themselves.

Achilles can be quickly bored and prone to shiny-object syndrome- they'll go down rabbit holes to feed their voracious minds.?

Now,?the vulnerable spot:

It's Self-doubt.?

The type that keeps thoughts spiraling, looking back for?ways for?what could have been said or done better or differently.?

But?when Achilles?manage to?see their formidable assets as a gift and practice being a little less demanding of themselves, they are simply unstoppable.

If you started doubting young, you might be an Achilles.

In fact, I know?the world is filled with Achilles,?human heroes and heroines ready to bring their integrity and nonlinear ideas to life.?

So let us all ?create a new mythology for ourselves by embracing our innate gifts and turning down our self-doubt a notch.?

Happy Summer,

Agate

“Myth is much more important and true than history. History is just journalism and you know how reliable that is.”

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