You know you’re in a rut when you think Murphy’s Law is true. It’s never the case that everything is going wrong, but it sure can feel that way at times. (I mean, sayings like “the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression” cannot feel reassuring.) Some things may go wrong at times, but many other things are going right. It’s just a matter of remembering this fact and realizing that things could always be worse. That said, there are times when your mind is focused solely on the negative. Rather than look at both the good and the bad, you may feel badly and dream of how things could have gone better. But again, you can’t let a pessimistic mood get you down.
If you are in a challenging profession, setbacks can be expected, and you cannot let setbacks get the better of you. Trading is surely competitive. It is not the case that people are personally out to get you, but other people are involved and they are certainly trying to take care of their own agenda rather than help you, but you can’t take it personally. It’s just business. There are three key strategies that you can use to persist in the face of adversity: (1) Cultivate a fighting spirit, (2) set up an alternative reward system, and (3) focus on the process not the prize.
It is vital to remain realistic, and ready to face setbacks head on. Youthful exuberance is useful. Young people are often naïve and optimistic, but this state of mind can do wonders to pick up your spirits. Believing that you are omnipotent and can do anything is naïve, but believing this fallacy for just a minute picks up your spirits. Sure, you can’t do anything you want, but you can probably do a lot more than you think when you are feeling beaten down. The key is to have a fighting spirit. Rather than focus on how life has beaten you down, it is useful to look on the bright side and appreciate what you have. You might as well think, “I don’t care what happens. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to keep fighting for what I want. I would rather try hard and fail than sit on sidelines and wonder what might have happened if I had just tried harder.” By cultivating a fighting spirit, one can look at setbacks as minor, commonplace events and take them in stride.
Setting up an alternative reward schedule will provide more consistent rewards and allow you to persist even when faced with a series of setbacks. Reward yourself after putting in a fixed amount of time (the end of each day, for example). Buy yourself a nice dinner or do something you find enjoyable. By patting yourself on the back for your efforts, you'll consistently feel satisfied with your profession, and stick with it. Many times we put in time and effort to achieve our goals, but the world does not reward us. Indeed, we may try hard and put in a heroic effort and actually receive punishment for our efforts. People may criticize us unfairly or someone may beat us out just because they had connections that we didn’t have. Life can be unfair at times, so it is vital to reward yourself for your efforts rather than wait for others to reward you. If you did a good job, you should feel good about it. Who cares what other people think.
Finally, it is essential to focus on the process, not the prize. Many people are driven by money, power, or prestige and when they don’t get any of these things, they feel like a failure. But rewards are never guaranteed, so it is much better to do what you like and feel the intrinsic gratification of having fun doing what you like. By focusing on intrinsic, rather than extrinsic, rewards, you'll feel more comfortable and creative, and do better in the long run.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Run Your Own Race
As social beings, humans naturally compare themselves to others. It can often be useful for survival to know whether you can beat an opponent or should run to safer ground. But comparisons are more trouble than they are worth. Why compare yourself to others and feel bad if you aren’t up to snuff?
Comparing ourselves to others can do more harm than good. If we are doing more poorly, we'll feel inadequate. And it isn't always the case that we are performing below par. Each person has his or her own personal history or circumstances that shaped his or her life. People differ in terms of personality, intellectual skills, and life experiences. Any or all of these factors can influence one's performance. It makes little sense to beat yourself up because you haven't achieved a level of performance equal to someone else who had advantages that you didn't have. In the end, the only person you can compare yourself to is you. If you make any comparisons at all, it should be against your own past performance, not someone else's. If life is a race, you should run your own race. Competing with others makes us feel good when we win, but most of the time, comparisons make us feel bad. Making comparisons can stifle creativity. It’s better to avoid such comparisons and appreciate your own talents and skills. If you do the best with what you have, you will feel better and be more productive.
Successful people in all fields avoid making comparisons to others. In the end, the only person's opinion that matters is your own. If you believe you are doing well, then that is all that matters. So when you find yourself comparing yourself to others, stop. The more you can focus on your own standards, the more successful you will be.
Comparing ourselves to others can do more harm than good. If we are doing more poorly, we'll feel inadequate. And it isn't always the case that we are performing below par. Each person has his or her own personal history or circumstances that shaped his or her life. People differ in terms of personality, intellectual skills, and life experiences. Any or all of these factors can influence one's performance. It makes little sense to beat yourself up because you haven't achieved a level of performance equal to someone else who had advantages that you didn't have. In the end, the only person you can compare yourself to is you. If you make any comparisons at all, it should be against your own past performance, not someone else's. If life is a race, you should run your own race. Competing with others makes us feel good when we win, but most of the time, comparisons make us feel bad. Making comparisons can stifle creativity. It’s better to avoid such comparisons and appreciate your own talents and skills. If you do the best with what you have, you will feel better and be more productive.
Successful people in all fields avoid making comparisons to others. In the end, the only person's opinion that matters is your own. If you believe you are doing well, then that is all that matters. So when you find yourself comparing yourself to others, stop. The more you can focus on your own standards, the more successful you will be.
Take Control
Do you ever feel as if you have no control of your future? These days, it’s hard not to feel as if things are a little chaotic. Whether you invest in the financial markets or not, the economy is on everyone’s mind, and it has created an aura of fear and uneasiness. You may wonder if your personal goals are possible with such an uncertain economic future. If you are in business, for example, you may wonder whether clients will buy your goods or services. If you work for a non-profit company or charity, you may similarly worry about how the long term economic picture will impact the organization where you work. It’s natural to panic during uncertain times. But rather than feel a sense of panic, it’s vital to take an active, problem solving approach to your life. The more you feel in control, the more likely you will be able to make progress toward your goals.
A study by Dr. Timothy Steenbergh and colleagues at the University of Memphis (Steenbergh, May, Meyers, & Whelan, 2005) suggests that you are better off believing you are in control even when you may not fully be in control. They studied a group of university students who played a computer game of roulette. All participants reported they had gambled recreationally in the past year. Researchers asked participants to describe the strategies they used while playing computerized roulette. About 25% of the participants reported they had no strategy or plan for winning; they just saw outcomes as random and passively accepted outcomes. The remaining participants reported that they had developed a strategy or game plan.
Results of the study suggest that it is better to make plans and take an active, rather than a passive approach. Participants who came up with some sort of strategy, sound or not, believed that their actions had an impact on roulette outcomes. They made more bets than those who didn't have any strategy, and made more money in the end. These findings illustrate how it’s vital to engage in active planning strategies rather than passively thinking, "Why bother, it doesn't matter." By taking an active, problem solving approach, you will feel in control and achieve success.
A study by Dr. Timothy Steenbergh and colleagues at the University of Memphis (Steenbergh, May, Meyers, & Whelan, 2005) suggests that you are better off believing you are in control even when you may not fully be in control. They studied a group of university students who played a computer game of roulette. All participants reported they had gambled recreationally in the past year. Researchers asked participants to describe the strategies they used while playing computerized roulette. About 25% of the participants reported they had no strategy or plan for winning; they just saw outcomes as random and passively accepted outcomes. The remaining participants reported that they had developed a strategy or game plan.
Results of the study suggest that it is better to make plans and take an active, rather than a passive approach. Participants who came up with some sort of strategy, sound or not, believed that their actions had an impact on roulette outcomes. They made more bets than those who didn't have any strategy, and made more money in the end. These findings illustrate how it’s vital to engage in active planning strategies rather than passively thinking, "Why bother, it doesn't matter." By taking an active, problem solving approach, you will feel in control and achieve success.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Looking for the Bright Side
Cultivating a winning mental edge requires you to take setbacks in stride. Every cloud has a silver lining, and it's useful to continually look for the bright side. When you look for the bright side, you feel better after encountering a setback. But it's harder than it looks for some people. Some people don't take setbacks in stride. Instead, they mull over them.
According to psychotherapist Albert Ellis, many people hold the belief, "It is awful and terrible when things are not the way one would very much like them to be." As children, parents may have allowed us to have things our way, but eventually we learned that we could not have everything that we wanted. Unfortunately, many people continue to hold the belief that it is awful, terrible, and even unbearable when things do not go as planned. It may be unpleasant, but it is not awful or terrible. Indeed, when things don't go our way, there may even be a bright side.
Suppose you did not get the promotion at work that you wanted, you could look at it as awful, but there is probably a silver lining if you look hard enough. Promotions usually mean more work and responsibility, which can be psychologically stressful. In addition, a new job may mean there is less leisure time. When one does not receive a promotion, it is useful to think, "at least I will have more time to spend with my family and friends."
That said, there are some events where it is difficult to see the bright side. It’s difficult to find the bright side when a loved one is hurt, for example. But even a setback like a theft can be seen as positive in some respect. It may be useful to remember to focus on spiritual issues rather than material possessions.
Not everything will go your way and it’s vital to expect setbacks. A setback may be disappointing, but it is not awful or terrible. Most setbacks have a bright side and if you can learn to identify that bright side, then you will take setbacks in stride and focus on what you need to do to succeed.
According to psychotherapist Albert Ellis, many people hold the belief, "It is awful and terrible when things are not the way one would very much like them to be." As children, parents may have allowed us to have things our way, but eventually we learned that we could not have everything that we wanted. Unfortunately, many people continue to hold the belief that it is awful, terrible, and even unbearable when things do not go as planned. It may be unpleasant, but it is not awful or terrible. Indeed, when things don't go our way, there may even be a bright side.
Suppose you did not get the promotion at work that you wanted, you could look at it as awful, but there is probably a silver lining if you look hard enough. Promotions usually mean more work and responsibility, which can be psychologically stressful. In addition, a new job may mean there is less leisure time. When one does not receive a promotion, it is useful to think, "at least I will have more time to spend with my family and friends."
That said, there are some events where it is difficult to see the bright side. It’s difficult to find the bright side when a loved one is hurt, for example. But even a setback like a theft can be seen as positive in some respect. It may be useful to remember to focus on spiritual issues rather than material possessions.
Not everything will go your way and it’s vital to expect setbacks. A setback may be disappointing, but it is not awful or terrible. Most setbacks have a bright side and if you can learn to identify that bright side, then you will take setbacks in stride and focus on what you need to do to succeed.
Take It Easy
If you are ambitious, you are probably a perfectionist. Does it drive you crazy when things don’t go your way? There are times when Murphy’s Law says it all: “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” Does this sound a little too cynical? Perhaps, but only if you submit to pessimism. If you have a winning attitude, however, you’re ready to tackle anything. You’ll think, “Things go wrong all the time. I’ll take it in stride and move on.” If you cultivate a winning attitude, you can fight Murphy’s Law with ease.
Stuff happens. So what? In our status-oriented society, we often work under the assumption that we must be thoroughly competent, adequate, and achieving. We tend to believe that if we make a mistake that we will be punished. The development of this belief is understandable. As we grow up, whether it is at home, school or work, we often face adverse consequences for not being scrupulously proficient in everything that we do. But holding such a belief produces fear and anxiety. If we believe that we must always be competent, we will expend all our precious psychological energy mulling over the negative consequences of failing, rather than focusing on what we are doing in the here-and-now to achieve our goals. This style of thinking is distracting and obscures the flow of immediate experience, which interferes with cultivating the proper mental edge.
For your long term enduring success, it is vital that you learn to ease up. You don't have to be perfect. You are bound to make mistakes occasionally, and if you are consumed with avoiding them, you'll be so anxious and fearful that you will choke under the pressure, and be upset when things go wrong. Murphy’s Law is true at times, but why feel bothered by setbacks? Why not expect them? It’s hard to accept, but you can’t control everything. Stuff happens and you need to deal with it objectively, rather than feel disappointed and stunned.
Striving for perfectionism is an important ideal to hold, but don't forget that it is just an ideal. You might try to reach for it, but don't beat yourself up when you don't get there. All you can do in the end is do your best.
Stuff happens. So what? In our status-oriented society, we often work under the assumption that we must be thoroughly competent, adequate, and achieving. We tend to believe that if we make a mistake that we will be punished. The development of this belief is understandable. As we grow up, whether it is at home, school or work, we often face adverse consequences for not being scrupulously proficient in everything that we do. But holding such a belief produces fear and anxiety. If we believe that we must always be competent, we will expend all our precious psychological energy mulling over the negative consequences of failing, rather than focusing on what we are doing in the here-and-now to achieve our goals. This style of thinking is distracting and obscures the flow of immediate experience, which interferes with cultivating the proper mental edge.
For your long term enduring success, it is vital that you learn to ease up. You don't have to be perfect. You are bound to make mistakes occasionally, and if you are consumed with avoiding them, you'll be so anxious and fearful that you will choke under the pressure, and be upset when things go wrong. Murphy’s Law is true at times, but why feel bothered by setbacks? Why not expect them? It’s hard to accept, but you can’t control everything. Stuff happens and you need to deal with it objectively, rather than feel disappointed and stunned.
Striving for perfectionism is an important ideal to hold, but don't forget that it is just an ideal. You might try to reach for it, but don't beat yourself up when you don't get there. All you can do in the end is do your best.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Striving For Superiority
I had dinner with an old friend from college last week in Dupont Circle. I look forward to our dinners whenever I go to Washington, D.C. for my job as a clinical researcher. In many ways, Dupont Circle and the surrounding neighborhood remind me of parts of San Francisco (where I work), but there is something different about the people there. They are more intense, driven, and ambitious. I enjoy overhearing their conversations in coffee shops and restaurants as they talk about the policies they want to change or how they hope to find a new job that will give them greater power to make a difference. They are attractive, young, and ready to take on the world. It makes me yearn for the days when I was younger. It’s exciting to be around such youthful exuberance. In some ways, Washington, D.C. is the center of the world. And the people who live there seem to treat it that way, at least the people I’ve seen hanging out in Dupont Circle.
What makes people so driven? When I was younger I couldn’t wait to become a researcher and do the kind of research that changes public policy. But as I have grown older, cynicism has set in. Making the world a better place is not as easy as I had thought when I was in my early twenties. There are many worthwhile causes competing for limited funds, and the world is full of ambitious people who also want to make a difference. It’s easy to throw up your arms and say, why bother? Friends who knew me in my early twenties described me as driven. I guess I was driven. Part of my drive was an honest attempt to make a contribution to society, but in the back of my mind, I always wondered about the psychological dynamics that drove me to succeed.
According to psychoanalyst Alfred Adler, ambitious people may be striving for superiority as a way to compensate for a feeling of inferiority. During childhood, one is bound to feel a sense of inferiority. Children are smaller than adults and have difficulty mastering their domain. Eventually, however, children learn to control their environment and feel powerful rather than helpless and inferior. But other people feel extremely inferior and spend their lives striving to become superior to others, striving for self-esteem, power, and self-aggrandizement. It’s like the popular notion that Napoleon conquered Europe because he was short.
There are times when a feeling of inferiority and the need to compensate for it can be productive. Theodore Roosevelt, for example, was frail as a child and exercised until he was physically fit. The need to do reach higher levels of performance may have initially been motivated by a need to compensate for inferiority, but in the end, striving for superiority compels people to develop skills that make a social contribution. As long as one does not merely strive for superiority as a way to compensate for low self esteem or a need to have power over others, the need to strive for superiority can be a positive motivating force.
Are you aware of what motivates you? It’s vital to gain awareness and ensure that you are not trying to merely cover up your deficits, but are truly striving to make a social contribution. When you strive to make social contributions, you are more likely to sharpen your mental edge and achieve success and mastery.
What makes people so driven? When I was younger I couldn’t wait to become a researcher and do the kind of research that changes public policy. But as I have grown older, cynicism has set in. Making the world a better place is not as easy as I had thought when I was in my early twenties. There are many worthwhile causes competing for limited funds, and the world is full of ambitious people who also want to make a difference. It’s easy to throw up your arms and say, why bother? Friends who knew me in my early twenties described me as driven. I guess I was driven. Part of my drive was an honest attempt to make a contribution to society, but in the back of my mind, I always wondered about the psychological dynamics that drove me to succeed.
According to psychoanalyst Alfred Adler, ambitious people may be striving for superiority as a way to compensate for a feeling of inferiority. During childhood, one is bound to feel a sense of inferiority. Children are smaller than adults and have difficulty mastering their domain. Eventually, however, children learn to control their environment and feel powerful rather than helpless and inferior. But other people feel extremely inferior and spend their lives striving to become superior to others, striving for self-esteem, power, and self-aggrandizement. It’s like the popular notion that Napoleon conquered Europe because he was short.
There are times when a feeling of inferiority and the need to compensate for it can be productive. Theodore Roosevelt, for example, was frail as a child and exercised until he was physically fit. The need to do reach higher levels of performance may have initially been motivated by a need to compensate for inferiority, but in the end, striving for superiority compels people to develop skills that make a social contribution. As long as one does not merely strive for superiority as a way to compensate for low self esteem or a need to have power over others, the need to strive for superiority can be a positive motivating force.
Are you aware of what motivates you? It’s vital to gain awareness and ensure that you are not trying to merely cover up your deficits, but are truly striving to make a social contribution. When you strive to make social contributions, you are more likely to sharpen your mental edge and achieve success and mastery.
Imposter Syndrome Reconsidered
I've been thinking more about the imposter syndrome. I hope you didn't take the idea too seriously, since I'm not sure it is a very serious topic. I never like pop psychology topics that were based on cute titles but tend to have no research to back them up. Very little research has been conducted on the imposter syndrome, especially in the last 20 years, and the research that has been done is published in obscure scientific journals. In 2003, I spoke to Professor of Julie Norem of Wellesley College at a psychology conference who has been studying the imposter syndrome, and probably will end up having done the best work so far on this topic. But I wonder if most people find it useful. I merely wrote about it because I think it is relevant to traders, and I focus on it at times in my trading psychology columns for Marketwise. com. Here's a column I wrote for traders that you may find interesting.
Winning Takes Skill and Chance
Edward Lewis in Pretty Woman seemed to have it all: Looks, money, and status. And he loved what he did for a living. A corporate raider, he loved the kill. But when he let Vivian into his life, his perspective radically changed. He started to questions his contribution to society. How many companies can one buy? How much money can one make? He pondered the meaning of his life, and realized, “I don’t build anything.” In the end, he decided to rescue the current target of his unrelenting greed, and fund the company to continue building ships rather than selling off the pieces like a stripped, stolen car. Many of the traders I have interviewed over the years struggle with a similar dilemma. They don’t “build” anything, and question their place in the world
Some traders question their legitimacy in the world, and may even feel like imposters as I said in my column last week. I’ve been trying in my columns to focus on evidence-based concepts based on legitimate science and I’ve tried to avoid catchy topics from pop psychology of the 1960s like the imposter phenomenon. But there are times when a flimsy, “pop” psychology concept like the imposter phenomenon has a provocative appeal.
One trader who influenced my thinking said he felt like a rock star or a professional athlete who suddenly rose from obscurity to international acclaim. While most people struggle to just make ends meet, many supertraders make the median yearly household income in the United States in less than a week. One can’t help but feel lucky and question his or her legitimacy when suddenly skyrocketing to success. Indeed, some traders may feel even phonier than a rock star or top notch athlete. A rock star who sells megahits, like Phil Collins, has quantifiable talent. Whatever it is about them, they have a style of singing that appeals to consumers, an image that inspires adoration, or they write great tunes. Regardless of the je ne sais quoi of their success, there is a quality that consumers buy. Similarly, professional athletes who are superstars have clearly defined athletic skills on which their salaries and stardom are based. With rock musicians and professional athletes, there is a time for prosperity, and inevitably, a time for obscurity. Fads change and skills wane with age. At some point, the mighty fall.
Trading is a little different, however. Sure, some traders have the skill to trade in the short term from market to market, but in reality, for some unexplained reason, most traders eventually end up losing their ability to trade. (That said, if a trader has made incredible wealth, then if he or she manages risk, numerous small trades can be made without ever blowing out, but profitability is greatly diminished from their heyday.) Whether it is merely lore or fact, the trading world is replete with Market Wizards who eventually go bust. And that’s why many feel deep down that their success will be short lived, or their past success may have been a fluke.
Is there a solution to feeling like an imposter? First, it’s important to put one’s ego aside. There is a strong tendency to want to pat oneself on the back for every accomplishment and believe that talent alone explains success. But there is an element of luck with every achievement, and if one merely acknowledges this fact, he or she will not feel like an imposter. One only feels like an imposter when one believes that luck does not play a role and that success was due only to luck. Second, it’s vital to truly have skills that are responsible for success. Trading can often be due to making a good guess. But merely guessing is not a skill. Traders who profit consistently have more solid methods, such as those based on studying charts and reports, rather than just using transitory methods. Transitory methods work for a while, but eventually fail, and that’s when feelings of phoniness come into play.
Trading is unique in that even the most profitable traders end up blowing out. We’ve all heard the stories, and so when you are in a winning streak, you know that it may merely be a fluke, and that’s why feelings of imposter syndrome come in. But you don’t need to feel like an imposter. Recognize that elements of chance may play a role in success but at the same time acknowledge that there are particular skills needed to trade, such as an intuitive understanding of the markets based on years of observation and experience. At a minimum, a seasoned trader with a track record can point to the span of time where he or she forecasted the markets accurately and profited. Market conditions may change, and one may lose his or her ability to profit, but the specific skill manifested in a particular context was real, and if you achieved profitability at some point in your career, you have done better than many, and there’s no need to feel like an imposter.
Winning Takes Skill and Chance
Edward Lewis in Pretty Woman seemed to have it all: Looks, money, and status. And he loved what he did for a living. A corporate raider, he loved the kill. But when he let Vivian into his life, his perspective radically changed. He started to questions his contribution to society. How many companies can one buy? How much money can one make? He pondered the meaning of his life, and realized, “I don’t build anything.” In the end, he decided to rescue the current target of his unrelenting greed, and fund the company to continue building ships rather than selling off the pieces like a stripped, stolen car. Many of the traders I have interviewed over the years struggle with a similar dilemma. They don’t “build” anything, and question their place in the world
Some traders question their legitimacy in the world, and may even feel like imposters as I said in my column last week. I’ve been trying in my columns to focus on evidence-based concepts based on legitimate science and I’ve tried to avoid catchy topics from pop psychology of the 1960s like the imposter phenomenon. But there are times when a flimsy, “pop” psychology concept like the imposter phenomenon has a provocative appeal.
One trader who influenced my thinking said he felt like a rock star or a professional athlete who suddenly rose from obscurity to international acclaim. While most people struggle to just make ends meet, many supertraders make the median yearly household income in the United States in less than a week. One can’t help but feel lucky and question his or her legitimacy when suddenly skyrocketing to success. Indeed, some traders may feel even phonier than a rock star or top notch athlete. A rock star who sells megahits, like Phil Collins, has quantifiable talent. Whatever it is about them, they have a style of singing that appeals to consumers, an image that inspires adoration, or they write great tunes. Regardless of the je ne sais quoi of their success, there is a quality that consumers buy. Similarly, professional athletes who are superstars have clearly defined athletic skills on which their salaries and stardom are based. With rock musicians and professional athletes, there is a time for prosperity, and inevitably, a time for obscurity. Fads change and skills wane with age. At some point, the mighty fall.
Trading is a little different, however. Sure, some traders have the skill to trade in the short term from market to market, but in reality, for some unexplained reason, most traders eventually end up losing their ability to trade. (That said, if a trader has made incredible wealth, then if he or she manages risk, numerous small trades can be made without ever blowing out, but profitability is greatly diminished from their heyday.) Whether it is merely lore or fact, the trading world is replete with Market Wizards who eventually go bust. And that’s why many feel deep down that their success will be short lived, or their past success may have been a fluke.
Is there a solution to feeling like an imposter? First, it’s important to put one’s ego aside. There is a strong tendency to want to pat oneself on the back for every accomplishment and believe that talent alone explains success. But there is an element of luck with every achievement, and if one merely acknowledges this fact, he or she will not feel like an imposter. One only feels like an imposter when one believes that luck does not play a role and that success was due only to luck. Second, it’s vital to truly have skills that are responsible for success. Trading can often be due to making a good guess. But merely guessing is not a skill. Traders who profit consistently have more solid methods, such as those based on studying charts and reports, rather than just using transitory methods. Transitory methods work for a while, but eventually fail, and that’s when feelings of phoniness come into play.
Trading is unique in that even the most profitable traders end up blowing out. We’ve all heard the stories, and so when you are in a winning streak, you know that it may merely be a fluke, and that’s why feelings of imposter syndrome come in. But you don’t need to feel like an imposter. Recognize that elements of chance may play a role in success but at the same time acknowledge that there are particular skills needed to trade, such as an intuitive understanding of the markets based on years of observation and experience. At a minimum, a seasoned trader with a track record can point to the span of time where he or she forecasted the markets accurately and profited. Market conditions may change, and one may lose his or her ability to profit, but the specific skill manifested in a particular context was real, and if you achieved profitability at some point in your career, you have done better than many, and there’s no need to feel like an imposter.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Imposter Syndrome
Success in life can often be a matter of being at the right place at the right time. In the United States, we prefer to hear stories (which are often myths) of people who live the American dream, but that does not mean that chance plays some role in one’s success. Sure, successful people had to work hard and have unique talent and skills, but there are many people who have the characteristics to become a superstar, yet live in obscurity because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Anyone who takes an honest, hard look at success knows that luck plays some role, and thus, when one beats the odds and obtains success, it’s easy to feel like an impostor, as if he or she was merely at the right place at the right time.
I’ve been enjoying Mad Men every Sunday night. The main character is Don Draper, a successful creative director at a Madison Avenue advertizing firm. He is attractive, hard working and successful, but in some ways he is an imposter. During the war, Dick (his real name) traded places with his commanding officer (the real Don Draper) who was killed and disfigured after an explosion. Dick isn’t really Don Draper but pretends he is. But who is he? Dick may not be the real man named Don Draper but he is responsible for his own success. He has an astute intuition of how consumers’ minds work, and he uses these insights to creatively develop the campaigns that sell products. He is indeed the attractive man who married a beautiful woman, had two children, and provides a nice home in the suburbs. Yet he lives the life of an impostor, hiding his past from his wife, children and friends.
Even people who do not assume another person’s identify feels like an imposter at times. When one is riding high, it’s easy to convince yourself that you are invincible, but at times of stress and disappointment, it’s easy to believe one is an imposter and that one’s past success was merely a matter of chance.
It may be fun to think one’s success is all about you. But again, no matter who you are, there was an element of chance in one’s success. No matter how hard you worked and want to pat yourself on the back for achieving success, there was some luck involved. A teacher may have taken an interest in you and encouraged you in school, for example, or little did you know, you may have won an award or promotion occasionally out of sheer luck.
But success is not all luck, and it is vital to remember this fact. No matter how much luck was involved in your success, part of it was due to some characteristic that you possess.
If there are times you feel like an imposter, it may have to do with your past life experiences and the messages you received while growing up. Society, close friends, or parents often give people the message that they are not worthy of success. For example, members of ethnic minority groups may have been given a societal message that they are not allowed to seek high status jobs. Women may have heard a similar message in which they are told to seek out only traditional female occupations, or people from blue-collar neighborhoods may have been told they cannot move into white-collar jobs. Although these barriers exist, they can be overcome through dedication and hard work. People who often feel like an imposter overcome these and other barriers, but they underestimate their contributions and believe that success was a matter of pure chance. Despite their success, they still believe that societal messages they heard in their childhood are true and that they have gone to a place where they should not have gone. These prior beliefs haunt them. They tend to secretly wait for their success to come to an end.
Maintaining success is difficult if you do not believe you deserve it. Do you feel like an imposter? Do you feel that you do not belong in the occupation you have chosen? If the answer is yes, make sure you gain awareness of your feelings and find a resolution. On the one hand, it’s useful to admit that to some extent luck plays a role in success. But on the other hand, it’s useful to remember that hard work and talent plays a role as well. The more you take a balanced approach by accounting for luck and external circumstances but also knowing exactly how you personally contribute, the easier it will be to achieve a winning mental edge.
I’ve been enjoying Mad Men every Sunday night. The main character is Don Draper, a successful creative director at a Madison Avenue advertizing firm. He is attractive, hard working and successful, but in some ways he is an imposter. During the war, Dick (his real name) traded places with his commanding officer (the real Don Draper) who was killed and disfigured after an explosion. Dick isn’t really Don Draper but pretends he is. But who is he? Dick may not be the real man named Don Draper but he is responsible for his own success. He has an astute intuition of how consumers’ minds work, and he uses these insights to creatively develop the campaigns that sell products. He is indeed the attractive man who married a beautiful woman, had two children, and provides a nice home in the suburbs. Yet he lives the life of an impostor, hiding his past from his wife, children and friends.
Even people who do not assume another person’s identify feels like an imposter at times. When one is riding high, it’s easy to convince yourself that you are invincible, but at times of stress and disappointment, it’s easy to believe one is an imposter and that one’s past success was merely a matter of chance.
It may be fun to think one’s success is all about you. But again, no matter who you are, there was an element of chance in one’s success. No matter how hard you worked and want to pat yourself on the back for achieving success, there was some luck involved. A teacher may have taken an interest in you and encouraged you in school, for example, or little did you know, you may have won an award or promotion occasionally out of sheer luck.
But success is not all luck, and it is vital to remember this fact. No matter how much luck was involved in your success, part of it was due to some characteristic that you possess.
If there are times you feel like an imposter, it may have to do with your past life experiences and the messages you received while growing up. Society, close friends, or parents often give people the message that they are not worthy of success. For example, members of ethnic minority groups may have been given a societal message that they are not allowed to seek high status jobs. Women may have heard a similar message in which they are told to seek out only traditional female occupations, or people from blue-collar neighborhoods may have been told they cannot move into white-collar jobs. Although these barriers exist, they can be overcome through dedication and hard work. People who often feel like an imposter overcome these and other barriers, but they underestimate their contributions and believe that success was a matter of pure chance. Despite their success, they still believe that societal messages they heard in their childhood are true and that they have gone to a place where they should not have gone. These prior beliefs haunt them. They tend to secretly wait for their success to come to an end.
Maintaining success is difficult if you do not believe you deserve it. Do you feel like an imposter? Do you feel that you do not belong in the occupation you have chosen? If the answer is yes, make sure you gain awareness of your feelings and find a resolution. On the one hand, it’s useful to admit that to some extent luck plays a role in success. But on the other hand, it’s useful to remember that hard work and talent plays a role as well. The more you take a balanced approach by accounting for luck and external circumstances but also knowing exactly how you personally contribute, the easier it will be to achieve a winning mental edge.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Well Balanced Life
Do you remember the Saturday Night Live skit where William Shatner told Star Trek fans to get a life? We value productivity in society, and as much as Star Trek has inspired great thoughts, sitting around in your parents' basement watching Star Trek episodes is not the most productive way to spend one's time. But we shouldn't just pick on, and completely devalue, the stereotype of the nerdy Star Trek fan who takes the series a little too seriously. Nerds make a big difference in the world. My new favorite television show is The Big Bang Theory. It's a funny sitcom where a bunch of nerds at Caltech dream about having a more well rounded life. In their defense, they may not get to date cheerleaders, but they are making a contribution to society, or to science at least. As much as it is ideal that people have a well-rounded life, there is honor in making sacrifices for the greater good. But a well-rounded life is valued in society and for good reason: A well-rounded life is psychologically healthy.
There are times when it is necessary to make sacrifices and focus all your energy on a single goal. An Olympic athlete trains for years. Professionals, such as lawyers and physicians, spend many years studying hard to meet high standards required to gain licensure. Without a single-minded focus, they would never achieve their goals. According to Bill Lipschutz, this kind of "insane focus" characterizes phenomenal traders as well. In his interview with Alpesh Patel in The Mind of a Trader, Mr. Lipschutz observes, "Brilliance, intelligence and education and the desire to make money will lead to success. But to be a phenomenon, talent and industry are key." According to Mr. Lipschutz, "the very best traders don't take a lot of time off. They don't want to." But at the same time, he wonders, "Do they need to recharge? Well, you know what, when I was younger I thought 'no.' A lot of things happen when you're younger and newer to the game that you don't really realize because you have this kind of energy and your experience bank is less full. You don't understand that to recharge may help you do it even better."
Olympic athletes are not superstars forever. Similarly, professional athletes have their prime and then they retire. So spending one's youth building up skills makes sense since there is a "critical period" in life to make one's mark. That said, as much as ambitious over-achievers like to define themselves by their work, it may not be wise. Don't put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to how you define yourself. It's psychologically important to define ourselves in many different ways, for example, as a friend, spouse, parent, or community leader. The number of roles you may hold in your life is endless. Each role should be part of your self-concept. Different aspects of your self-concept can protect your self-esteem when faced with stressful events. In one research study, for example, participants with multi-faceted self-concepts were better able to cope with stress, depression, and illness. In addition, they were better able to control their emotions. When people have multi-faceted self-concepts, they are less prone to extreme variations in emotions. Their emotions remain relatively stable, rather than rapidly rising and falling. Why? People with a multi-faceted self-concept have alternative views of themselves, so when failure is encountered in one aspect of their lives, they can find consolation in the fact that another aspect of their life is still going well. For example, when faced with a major professional setback, you may find solace in knowing that you are still a loving parent or a caring friend.
You will never be able to maintain a winning mental edge if you put pressure on yourself, but that's what you are doing when you define yourself completely by your professional aspirations. It may wise to put in the necessary hard work to achieve your goals, but your career identity should be just one part of a multi-faceted life.
There are times when it is necessary to make sacrifices and focus all your energy on a single goal. An Olympic athlete trains for years. Professionals, such as lawyers and physicians, spend many years studying hard to meet high standards required to gain licensure. Without a single-minded focus, they would never achieve their goals. According to Bill Lipschutz, this kind of "insane focus" characterizes phenomenal traders as well. In his interview with Alpesh Patel in The Mind of a Trader, Mr. Lipschutz observes, "Brilliance, intelligence and education and the desire to make money will lead to success. But to be a phenomenon, talent and industry are key." According to Mr. Lipschutz, "the very best traders don't take a lot of time off. They don't want to." But at the same time, he wonders, "Do they need to recharge? Well, you know what, when I was younger I thought 'no.' A lot of things happen when you're younger and newer to the game that you don't really realize because you have this kind of energy and your experience bank is less full. You don't understand that to recharge may help you do it even better."
Olympic athletes are not superstars forever. Similarly, professional athletes have their prime and then they retire. So spending one's youth building up skills makes sense since there is a "critical period" in life to make one's mark. That said, as much as ambitious over-achievers like to define themselves by their work, it may not be wise. Don't put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to how you define yourself. It's psychologically important to define ourselves in many different ways, for example, as a friend, spouse, parent, or community leader. The number of roles you may hold in your life is endless. Each role should be part of your self-concept. Different aspects of your self-concept can protect your self-esteem when faced with stressful events. In one research study, for example, participants with multi-faceted self-concepts were better able to cope with stress, depression, and illness. In addition, they were better able to control their emotions. When people have multi-faceted self-concepts, they are less prone to extreme variations in emotions. Their emotions remain relatively stable, rather than rapidly rising and falling. Why? People with a multi-faceted self-concept have alternative views of themselves, so when failure is encountered in one aspect of their lives, they can find consolation in the fact that another aspect of their life is still going well. For example, when faced with a major professional setback, you may find solace in knowing that you are still a loving parent or a caring friend.
You will never be able to maintain a winning mental edge if you put pressure on yourself, but that's what you are doing when you define yourself completely by your professional aspirations. It may wise to put in the necessary hard work to achieve your goals, but your career identity should be just one part of a multi-faceted life.
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