I've struggled with Impostor Syndrome for nearly my entire life, but what if my brain is actually conjuring up this emotion as a tool for some twisted end? 🎧AIRPODS MAX GIVEAWAY🎧 To enter to win the Airpods Max with an "If Then Podcast" engraving, here's what to do: 1) Screenshot this podcast and share on your Instagram tagging @ifthenpodcast 2) Follow @ifthenpodcast on Instagram 3) If we get to 200 shares by the end of Season 2, you have an opportunity to win the Airpods Max! But don't forget, that each week, for those of you who share on Instagram, I also give away two 1 month Audible gift cards which include a FREE credit for an audiobook + 1 MONTH ACCESS to their Plus Catalog which includes thousands of audiobooks with no credits needed. WEBSITE: https://www.ifthenpodcast.com EMAIL: [email protected] CREDITS: Written and produced by Jordan Taylor "The Courage to Be Disliked": https://www.amazon.com/The-Courage-to-Be-Disliked-audiobook/dp/B07BRPW98K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2U3CSDJV643CC&keywords=the+courage+to+be+disliked&qid=1662934625&sprefix=the+courage+to+be+disliked%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-1 “Commentary: Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Imposter Syndrome: A Systematic Review”: https://www.mentalhealthjournal.org/articles/commentary-prevalence-predictors-and-treatment-of-imposter-syndrome-a-systematic-review.html TRANSCRIPT: My name is Jordan Taylor, and welcome to the If Then podcast. Our brains our a conglomerate of if/then statements, like in computer code, and oftentimes new lines of code are hard to write in our mind when we’re trying new things, for example if I want to play piano, then I need to read music. Sitting down and coding that particular if then statement could take years of dedication, but when we do sit down and create new then statements for a complicated if, it feels freaking amazing. This podcast is your weekly motivation, and mine, to get uncomfortable and write some neurological code. “The exaggerated esteem in which my lifework is held makes me very ill at ease. I feel compelled to think of myself as an involuntary swindler.” —Albert Einstein Before I announced my podcast to everyone this May, I sat in a dark room, alone. (snap sound that echos out. Narration stops.) (a ceiling fan eases in) The fan was on. Too high actually, but I was in the middle of something, and I didn’t even notice my bare feet chilling on the hardwood floor from wind blasts as I sat on the couch. My brain was occupied with one of the most unique things a human can do. Something we’ve all done. Something that seems a little self-important and stupid, but… it’s actually maybe the most important thing. I had my phone, and I was typing, deleting, typing, deleting. I hadn’t used this app in years, and that was exactly why I was on it that night for that task. It was the perfect place for what I was doing. (iPhone typing sound) I was on Twitter. But I wasn’t tweeting. I was busy, in an inconspicuous place, defining myself. A place that was public, yet very hidden. A safe place: my bio. “YouTuber. Hobbyist. Podcaster.” “YouTuber. Podcast host. Hobbyist.” I was trying to make myself believe something I didn’t feel like even though I was really proud of the first two episodes that I had created but hadn’t posted yet. I knew I had a legitimate podcast, but that didn’t matter. See, I might have a podcast and therefore, by definition, be a podcaster, but every single other podcaster felt more authentic than me. I had the same suit and tie as them, we’re all at the same party, but it’s just a costume on me while it’s real on everyone else. I was an imposter. So I deleted the bio, turned off the fan, and slunk to bed. According to the article “Commentary: Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Imposter Syndrome: A Systematic Review” “Imposter syndrome is a condition that describes high-achieving individuals who, despite their objective success