It is hard for many high-achieving people to acknowledge growth, progress, and mastery.
"Oh, I'm just stumbling around in the dark," they'll scoff in response to a compliment. Or they'll say, "I've got to work harder," when the evidence suggests they're already working harder than anyone else.
It's laudable to want to better yourself — to want to raise the bar and not settle for less than you're capable of.
Read MoreYou have something valuable to share.
That may come off as a platitude, but I really do believe it.
To be clear, I believe it to be true of everyone. We each have our unique take on being human. We each have perspective that could be useful to someone else and stories that others can relate to, laugh along with, or learn from.
Read MoreEvery once in awhile, social media is tempting.
It sounds great in theory. A place where I can meet new people, exchange ideas, find clients for my service, and learn new things? Sign me up!
And then I do sign up, and I don't like the way I feel. I don't like "consuming content." I don't like how the app is designed to keep me using it.
It doesn't feel like human connection. It feels like a dystopian wasteland.
Read MoreYou know how we all have gifts that we take for granted because they're our gifts and therefore invisible to us?
Well, I'm starting to think that one of my gifts is reframing negative stories—particularly the ones people tell about themselves.
High-achieving people have a tendency to look only at their room for improvement. This focus on growth is a positive quality, but being unable to see or acknowledge the skills and strengths they've already gained is a distortion of reality that will prevent them from having the clarity they need to make decisions.
Read MoreI wasn’t allowed to watch Saturday morning cartoons as a kid. (Yes, it killed my elementary school social life big time.) For some reason, we were only allowed a bit of Mr. Magoo before the TV was shut off and it was time for breakfast.
Mr. Magoo centers on the adventures of a hapless, legally blind retiree who has frequent brushes with death and disaster as a result of his inability to see — and his seeming unawareness that he can’t see. He bumbles through life oblivious to the danger he’s in and the degree to which other people are constantly rescuing him.
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