 Get comfortable being uncomfortable, because that's what we're talking about today on The Journey. So Nealey, have you ever felt insecure or hesitant at work? More times than I can count. Exactly, same. And you're not alone. I mean, so many people at every single level of success experience what they call imposter syndrome. And it actually affects men and women equally. So why don't you tell us all a little bit about what imposter syndrome is? So imposter syndrome is whenever you feel really uncomfortable, nervous, or anxious, even though you've put in a lot of work and effort to get where you're going. And you feel like at any moment, people are going to find out that you're some big phony. A big phony, a big fraud. And this goes really just with comparing yourself to others, whether they have more experience than you or more education. You don't think you're good enough for what you're doing. But most of the time you are, you have put in the work to do that. We're going to go over some ways to overcome that. And while it may not feel like it in the moment, a little bit of discomfort can actually go a really long way in terms of your personal development. Yeah, I'll be the first to admit that I've put trying to put myself in those uncomfortable situations. And it doesn't feel good at first. But looking back on it, I'm super happy I did because it gives you and me the opportunities that we have today. That's where all the growth happens. So in the 1970s, Noel Birch developed the Conscious Competence Ladder. It's a great way to help us process the emotions and what you're feeling during that difficult growth process. All right, Alex, so what is that first stage of learning? So the first level is when you're unconsciously unskilled. So we don't know that we don't have a certain skill, right? You're blissfully ignorant. You're perfectly fine. You don't realize that you don't have that. All right, so I think I know the next one. It's consciously unskilled, right? Exactly. So this is when we know we don't have a certain skill that we probably should. So this can be a really demoralizing time. So it's easy to lose confidence whenever you feel like other people have this skill. You don't and you really need that skill. Right, you don't really know where to get that skill to. So it's really important to stay confident and positive during the stage. The next step is when you're consciously skilled. I'm sensing a bit of a trend here. Yeah, exactly. It's easy to go with, right? But this is whenever you have a skill, but you still have to really concentrate on it, right? Right, you know you got it. You know you can flaunt it, but you need to make sure that you still work for it. So you can think of this level as, you know, a toddler learning how to walk, right? At the very beginning, it takes a lot of concentration. It's difficult to do. You need a lot of practice. But that leads us into our next step, which is when you're unconsciously skilled. And at that point, you're walking every day and it's nothing. Right, you only have to think about it. I mean, I still struggle sometimes with walking. I'm tripping literally everywhere. It happens. I'm kind of a klutz. But it's the whole kind of baby walking progression. It's starting to walk. It's starting to run. And then it's chaos and trouble out there. So good luck with that. And a good way to maintain this level of skill is to actually teach others. Yeah, the more you teach it, the more it stays top of mind in your brain. You start to develop a real deep understanding for that skill set. But it's important to remember to keep brushing up on these skills because you can always fall back down that competence ladder. But it is kind of like riding a bike, but you will still need to practice on it. If you haven't ridden a bike in ages, you may not be what you once were. That's why feeling uncomfortable is something you should embrace. Being in these new, uncomfortable situations, it actually triggers something in your brain to release dopamine. Yeah, and always remember, you are not alone. Everyone goes through at some point in the life that feeling of just being uncomfortable. And it might be something that you're just killer at, but they're struggling. Know that you're not alone. Basically, we all feel like imposters all the time and it's fine. So the real challenge is to get past that initial feeling of discomfort so that way you can grow and benefit from it. Absolutely, that's all we have for you. Let us know down in the comments below a time when you felt like you were an imposter. And if this video helped you, go ahead and give us a like and subscribe to our channel. This is A Journey, see you next time.