For a long time I felt like an imposter.

Ever felt like you're just pretending to know what you're doing, despite evidence to the contrary? You're not alone. Join me as I unpack my personal battle with imposter syndrome and how it disrupted my confidence and growth. Discover the transformative advice my coach gave me that taught me the power of authenticity. Learn how embracing your unique strengths and values can help you overcome the imposter within and allow you to connect more genuinely with those around you.

Exciting news! The Momentum event is back and better than ever, set against the stunning backdrop of the Ebrington Hotel and Spa on September 28th. This is the perfect opportunity for those craving personal and professional growth, with a lineup of inspiring speakers dedicated to helping you find your authentic self and align with your core values. Early bird tickets go on sale May 31st. Mark your calendars and prepare to network with like-minded individuals while soaking in the beauty of Derry. Stay connected on social media for all the latest updates and ticket information.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

for a long time I used to feel like an imposter and it always gave me anxiety. It would keep me from pursuing certain opportunities and derail the success that I wanted deep down. It was only when I really started to study human behavior that I understood why this happens. You will never feel like an imposter if you're just being yourself, because you simply cannot fail at just being yourself. So many of us experience the imposter syndrome when we compare ourselves to someone else, when we compare ourselves to something outside of ourselves. This happens when we look up at someone else and we perceive that they're maybe more successful than us, healthier than us, wealthier than us, maybe socially more influential than us, or whatever it might be. Whatever we look up at, and when we do this, this a lot of the times we minimize ourselves in comparison and we can feel like an imposter when we do this, because in our mind we don't match up to what we perceive in others. But what we perceive in others we're only seeing one side, and also what we also perceive in others we have within ourselves. So I'll give you an example of this.

Speaker 1: 1:31

Not so long ago, I was asked to come and do a talk for a company, and this was a global company, it was worth billions, and I was asked to come and do a talk and in my mind immediately what started popping up was you didn't even finish school. Who do you think you are going to give a talk to a company like this? And it was kind of the first time that I'd actually really felt that in a long time, that it felt like I was being an imposter. Don't get me wrong when I go and do talks, I give presentations you get nervous, but it's not a feeling of being an imposter, it's an excitement almost, and you feel okay with it. But at this time I kind of started to question things. I started to question myself and my own coach at that time gave me real words of wisdom and she said you'll never feel like an imposter. You'll only ever sorry, she said. You'll only ever feel like an imposter if you're trying to be someone else other than who you are. She says stick to your area of expertise, stick to what you're an expert in and speak from the heart. And I thought exactly so.

Speaker 1: 2:48

So true, because and every single person that's listening to this will be able to resonate with this because if you, if you show up to do something, but you constantly think that you should be doing it in some other way, other than the way that you do it, and you have someone in your mind who does it in a certain way. Then your expectation to be that way is what a lot of the times will give you those feelings of being an imposter and not matching up, whereas if you just showed up as yourself and you showed up as yourself and just were content and happy to be yourself, then you can't feel like an imposter because there's no conflict. There's no conflict going on in your mind. There's no conflict of trying to be somebody else. You're not putting other people on a pedestal or minimizing yourself in comparison. So there's no internal imbalance minimizing yourself in comparison. So there's no internal imbalance. And when there's no internal imbalance, you're centered. And when you're centered, you're balanced in the mind, you're balanced in the body and you show up more authentically and the people that you're showing up for get the real version. They get who you really are. They get the true version of yourself and that comes across.

Speaker 1: 4:06

People feel that they feel somebody that's trying to be somebody other than themselves, um, and you can never actually really influence and impact people in the best possible way without really truly being yourself. So I took so I took that piece of advice into that talk and I leaned on being myself, I leaned on being an expert in my field, I leaned on all of my years of experience and I went down and spoke from my heart and it was a fantastic talk and I got lots of great feedback around it. And it was a fantastic talk and I got lots of great feedback around it. So I've actually taken that into podcasts. I've taken it into other talks, I've taken it into every coaching session that I do with my clients, and it's been a long time since I've experienced those feelings again.

Speaker 1: 5:01

That's not disregarding that you don't get nervous, that's normal, you get nervous, etc. But feeling like an imposter and like constantly beating yourself up and minimizing yourself and thinking, oh no, this is how am I going to do this? No, and listening to this podcast? That that's you. No, and listening to this podcast, if that's you think about right, well, how can you just be yourself? How can you show up authentically as yourself? Um, and if you're doing that within your work, if you're doing that within your business, if you're doing that in your life in general, then you're going to be more neutral, you're going to feel more balanced and you're going to feel more authentic. And you can take that into all areas of life, not just public speaking or business. You can take that into every area.

Speaker 1: 5:45

So if you have faith and belief in yourself and your area of expertise and you solely focus on that and solely focus on just being yourself, then we don't really experience feelings of being an imposter. Because here's what I want to get across whatever you admire in somebody else, if you look up to someone else, if you admire a certain thing within them maybe a trait, an action, something that they do, something that they've achieved, something that they present, whatever that might be identify it and then look at your own life and see well, where do I have that? Where do I also do the same thing, but I do it in my area of expertise. I do it in my values, because if you look, you'll see that whatever you admire in somebody else, you also do, but you do it in your form. You also have it, but you present it in your area of expertise and you do it in accordance with your values, not theirs.

Speaker 1: 6:47

Now, the same can also be on the flip side, when we judge somebody and we minimize others and we put ourselves on a pedestal. Whatever we judge in others, we also have within ourselves. So if you look and say, well, what am I judging another person? Well, where have I actually done that? Where have I done what I'm judging on someone else? And you bring yourself back in the equilibrium again and you bring yourself back into balance. And when you bring yourself back in the balance, that's the authentic self, when you neither minimize yourself in comparison to somebody else or pedestal yourself in comparison to somebody else. You just see whatever you see in someone else within yourself, and that's the most authentic state. That's when you're going to be most neutral and it's also when you're going to be most objective.

Speaker 1: 7:32

So, on ending this short podcast, what I want to ask is does this resonate? Do you have feelings of being an imposter? Do you think that it's keeping you stuck? Do you think that it's derailing success? Do you think that it's keeping you back from putting yourself out there and taking a step forward and really beginning to grow in your life and your business, etc. And it's really, really common. But what I'd also say is lean on what I've just talked about in this podcast. What I'd also say is ask yourself, when these things appear, how can I be my most authentic self? How can I just show up as me guys before go?

Speaker 1: 8:17

What I want to let you all know about is my Momentum event is back and we are at the Edmondson Hotel and Spa this year on the 28th of September. So the Momentum event is an event for everyone who is interested in upgrading their mind, for everyone who's interested in taking themselves themselves, either in their personal life, their health, their fitness, their business to another level. So getting in and around like-minded people, networking with like-minded people, listening to what I'm going to be sharing and talking about issues and topics all around this finding your authentic self and getting aligned with what you truly really value. You'll also be listening to other fantastic guest speakers, who I will be announcing very, very soon, but the early bird tickets will be going live on the 31st of may and I'm really, really looking forward to this year's event. It's going to be a fantastic day.

Speaker 1: 9:15

We've got some really different things lined up for this event, and the hotel and spa itself is absolutely beautiful. If you're traveling, it would be a great excuse to come to Derry and stay over for a day or two days and really enjoy the town and enjoy the city while coming to an event that's going to upgrade your mind, upgrade your energy, get you feeling inspired to take yourself and your business or whatever it might be to different levels. Okay, guys, pay attention on all my social medias for the event going live. Early bird tickets again will be live on the 31st. Make sure you click the links, get your ticket and I would love to see you there. Speak soon.