How to Keep Calm

May 6, 2022

An attendee at one of my recent Imposter Syndrome talks asked me how I can have Imposter Syndrome and yet still be calm and in control on stage.

My answer was simple.

I know delivering a keynote triggers my Imposter Syndrome, so I anticipate the anxiety and the fear of being exposed, before they happen. Then when they happen, I allow them. I allow anxiety and fear and panic to pass through me. Then I remember who I am and I trust that I’m enough.

That’s it.

No tips. No fancy tricks. No quick fixes.

I recently coached a client going through the partnership promotion process. She was so anxious and stressed about the final interview, it was making her ill.

I helped her understand the parts of the process that would trigger her Imposter Syndrome. I taught her how to process the negative emotions that were already coming up, and which would come up in the room. Then I coached her on how to remember who she is and trust she is enough.

Within weeks of us working together she told me she was so calm and in control, she felt like a completely different person. She started looking forward to the interview. And when the time came, she nailed it.

We often look at people who are more visible than us and who appear calm and confident, and wish we had what they have.

But you don’t need what someone else has.

You already have everything you need.

Being calm and feeling confident when the stakes are high isn’t something you are born with. It doesn’t even take years of practice. It’s just a decision to allow negative emotions to pass through you without acting on them.

Happy Friday,

P.S. In Imposter Speech Coaching, one of the things you learn is how to identify the negative emotions that get triggered by your Imposter Syndrome and how to process them without being driven by them. So you can shift to calm and in control in any situation, no matter how high the pressure.

P.P.S. The July 2022 Class of Imposter Speech Coaching is enrolling soon. Ready to start feeling calm and in control? Find out about the application process ahead of time, by joining the waitlist here.

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