Is Self-Doubt Part of the Process?

StacJip
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:14:11 +0000

One thing I have noticed is that often (admittedly not always) the smartest and most talented people I know are also the one’s who are modest and the first to tell you they are not that talented or that smart. I don’t like the term “Imposter syndrome” which is often given to this phenomena. Because I think one reason this is the case is that really smart talented people are aware of possibilities that have not yet been attained or see directions they can go forward. They know they have not “arrived” at some magical top of the heap spot, which in way would result in them having no motivation to work harder or push forward. Feelings of over-confidence can lead to a smugness that does not lend itself to change and risk taking and a feeling that one can and should push boundaries and take risks.

Also very talented smart people appreciate talent and intelligence in others and are happy to have them as their peers. So rather than feeling threatened they see potential and collaboration.

My musician son never had been #1. He was at the top in high school but not #1. He did well in conservatory and grad school but was not #1. And yet like Bridgenail his talent and his strength is in his creativity and his desire to create. He has many friends who respect him and like being with him who are at the top and they enjoy working with him because of what he brings to the table (his thinking and ideas and creative imagination) and because he is respectful of their strengths and allows their strengths to shine.

I have a mathematician son who is also not #1 and probably never will be #1 but I could say the same thing about him. His imagination and creativity allow him to bring to collaborations his own unique perspective. But what really comes through and has allowed him to achieve (he just started a post-doctoral fellowship) is his love of what he does and the fact that that love lets him enjoy other’s achievements and discoveries which in turn fuel his imagination and thinking so he can create and explore and do research.