I’ve spoken previously about the lizard brain. You know, that little area right in the base of our brain which the oldest (and strongest) part and is responsible for, amongst other things, the fight/flight/freeze response. I was recently reminded of its power.
During a coaching session I was discussing imposter syndrome with a colleague and looking at some ways of working through it. One of her ideas was to focus on the things she’s good at because it meant she’d keep things moving. Sounds like a pretty good plan, right?
Maybe, but this is a very clear example of the lizard brain screaming out for safety and security. By focusing on what we know, we stay safe. The problem is, being safe is rarely where the magic happens.
My challenge to her … What if you focused on your weaknesses? What would that look like? The stuff you’re good at will take care of itself anyway!
Far too often we embrace the work of being busy. We like to feel busy, often regardless of the value of output. I’m sure you can think of a moment you’ve chosen this path. Imagine if we spent more time working on our weaknesses.
My challenge to you is the same. Next time you have the option of doing the busy work or to embrace feeling uncomfortable, choose the latter. You might just surprise yourself.
Time to think 