🔹 Your brain is wired to fear rejection because, in the past, losing social connection meant losing safety.

🔹 Your life-and-death fear of speaking in public, singing karaoke, or putting yourself out there is real—but the danger is not.

📌 In the past, being cast out of the tribe meant mortal peril.
Humans don’t survive well alone. Back then, rejection meant real danger.

📌 But today, we have freedom of movement.
If one community doesn’t accept us, we can find another. We can change jobs or move to a new town.

📌 I like to thank my protective instincts.
"Thank you, Rejection Sensitivity, for trying to keep me safe. But I won’t actually be in mortal peril if I blow this presentation, so you can rest now."

📌 But what happens when this instinct gets misapplied?
Rejection Sensitivity makes you hyper-aware of how others might perceive you. If you believe they might judge, reject, or "find you out," you start questioning your own competence—even when you’re more than qualified.

🔹 Imposter Syndrome signals low Dunning-Kruger.

📌 What’s the Dunning-Kruger Effect?
It’s the tendency for the least competent people to overestimate their abilities, while the most capable people doubt themselves. If you’ve ever second-guessed yourself while watching someone clueless charge ahead with total confidence—that’s Dunning-Kruger in action.

🔹 Knowing this, my friends and I respect people with Imposter Syndrome, because it’s a sign of integrity.

📌 Feeling like an imposter? That’s not proof you don’t belong—it’s proof you’re thinking critically.
The real frauds never doubt themselves.

📌 With this reframe, I’ve helped clients break through self-doubt, land promotions, move into leadership, and uplevel their careers.

🔹 You don’t have to wait to feel ‘ready.’ You just have to start.