You know the feeling. You’re about to send the message, make the call, put yourself forward, and a voice pipes up: are you sure? What if you’re wrong? What if you’re not up to this? For a lot of capable people, that voice is a near-constant companion, and its favourite trick is to sound like […]
Self-Doubt Isn’t a Sign You’re Not Good Enough. It’s Your Brain Doing Its Job Too Well Read More »
Perfectionism has the best public image of any psychological pattern I know. Say it in a job interview and it counts as a strength. “I’m a bit of a perfectionist” is the humble-brag we’re all allowed. And often there’s something real behind it: many perfectionists genuinely care about their work and hold themselves to a
Perfectionism Isn’t High Standards. It’s Fear With Good PR. Read More »
Your heart is pounding, your breathing has quickened, there’s adrenaline moving through you and a slight tremor in your hands. Are you about to give a presentation you’re dreading, or are you three sets into a workout you love? From the neck down, there is almost no way to tell. This is one of the
The Same Racing Heart: Why Anxiety and Excitement Feel Almost Identical Read More »
You’ve got the presentation next week, so you start preparing. Sensible enough. But somewhere along the way, preparing tips into something else. You rehearse it again. You rewrite the slides a fourth time. You script the answers to questions nobody may ask. And the odd thing is that the more you prepare, the less ready
Over-Preparing for a Presentation: When Safety Behaviours Backfire Read More »