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Don Johnson's avatar

When I was young I felt quite incompetent most of the time. As I got better at anything I was able to apply confidence to more and more things. When I jumped in, head first, to door-to-door sales during a college summer I found it was not about being competent but in believing in oneself. Now in my golden years I believe in Richard Branson's quote "If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes - then learn how to do it later!" I love this philosophy.

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Annie Murphy Paul's avatar

Agreed, Don—we can learn as we go. It's far too limiting to assume that we have to know everything about a task BEFORE we attempt it!

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Laurie Calland's avatar

This article is proving to be extremely helpful to me today. There is a problematic behavior that, in spite of my best intentions, I continue to fall prey to. Reading this article moved me from a dark sense of discouraged frustration to the happy curiosity of a problem-solver. “Oh, goodie,” I thought, “I can apply the problem-solving mindset here. Yes, I’m VERY eager to solve this problem. And, phew, I can grant myself permission to hang out in the not-knowing space while I find a real solution. In fact, it’s advisable to do so.” I’m in a much better space and am looking forward to diving in! 😊

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Annie Murphy Paul's avatar

I'm so glad to hear this, Laurie! Giving oneself permission not to be competent and masterful in the present moment is so liberating.

I find that the trick—and it's not always so easy to pull off—lies in SIMULTANEOUSLY keeping in mind the awareness that, "Yeah, most of the time I AM competent and skillful. So I can take the risk of not-knowing in the moment, and not feel down on myself in a global way."

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Michael Harvey's avatar

I encourage my students and the creatives I work with to have a 'high wonky tolerance' as they develop their practice. Thanks for this article - glad we're on the same side as Leonardo!

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Annie Murphy Paul's avatar

"High wonky tolerance" is a great phrase, Michael! Thank you for sharing it!

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Michael Harvey's avatar

I find it lets people let go of 'getting it right' which can be a real creativity blocker and gives them permission to sink into the work a bit more, relax and have fun.

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Lissa Johnston's avatar

I loved the Isaacson bio. This is a very useful observation to help writers combat imposter syndrome.

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Annie Murphy Paul's avatar

Lissa, thank you for introducing the idea of imposter syndrome here. That's really what we're talking about here, isn't it—that feeling that "Who am I to think I can pull this off?" Often the concept of imposter syndrome is applied when we're making a public presentation of some kind—but I think we're just as apt to feel imposter syndrome in the privacy of our own office or studio, as we try to create.

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Bob Sullivan's avatar

I have a lot of trouble feeling incompetent. And I often marvel at people who are good at it. Like people who are good at asking for directions. I think there's a male element to this too, You can't ever show a weakness. This has got to have big implications inside corporations where type A people who always project confidence always seem to win the day.

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Annie Murphy Paul's avatar

Thank you so much for this comment, Bob. Women have their own stereotypes regarding incompetence to battle--but it does seem true that men in our culture are expected to be competent and in control at all times. Being creative requires giving ourselves permission NOT to feel competent in the moment.

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Adam Hansen's avatar

Remember how we sucked when first attempting to ride a bike? If we’re immediately good at something new, it ain’t that new. Embrace sucking in the service of deeper learning. The Suck-To-Success Cycle is what brings the juice to life!

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Annie Murphy Paul's avatar

So true, Adam. At the beginning of my career an editor told me that if at some point in writing an article, I didn't feel totally lost and at sea, then I wasn't creating anything new—just regurgitating what was already out there. That insight has helped me many times!

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Alace Pearl's avatar

Thank you! This is quite valuable.

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