Silencing Your Inner Critic

When I worked at MIT I met hundreds of accomplished, educated, ambitious professionals. It is ridiculous, really, how smart and accomplished they are! Global C-suite executives, lawyers, doctors, professors, entrepreneurs, business professionals…. I met them all and you know what many, many of them shared with me? “I don’t fit in here. These people are so much smarter than me.”

I was astounded when I first heard this, but it became clear that this was a very common feeling, even among this amazing group of people. My daughter is a 4th year medical student at Harvard Medical School. Guess what? Same thing there. Michelle Obama, Sonia Sotomayor. Them too? Yup. What the hell is going on here? If these amazing people feel like they don’t quite measure up, what are regular folks like me supposed to feel?

NORMAL!

Yes, normal. Everyone doubts themselves.You have lots of company if sometimes you feel inadequate, or afraid. Discomfort and insecurity often appear when learning new skills or taking on a new challenge. The key is to not let these feelings paralyze you. Feeling unworthy does NOT mean that you are, in fact, unworthy! Commit to embracing your journey, treating yourself with compassion and empathy and living your life without the voice of judgment in your head. Mindfulness and self-awareness can help you catch yourself having thoughts of doubt or fear and allow you to replace them with more supportive thoughts.

What is the voice in your head telling you?