Ep 178: Imposter Syndrome, Mental Fitness, and Training your Brain with Glen Stevens
August 29, 2024 - Matt Reiner
In this episode of Bridging the Gap, Matt Reiner chats with Glen Stevens, a mental fitness and executive leadership coach, about the common challenges high-achievers face, such as black-and-white thinking and imposter syndrome. Glen emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and embracing emotions rather than ignoring them, as a way to move past negative thought patterns. He introduces the concept of ‘saboteurs,’ particularly the ‘judge’ saboteur, which can cloud self-awareness and mental clarity. Glen shares a simple yet powerful technique: practicing a sensory focus exercise for just ten seconds to shift your mindset from negative to positive thinking.
Self-awareness is the cornerstone of mental fitness, just like a muscle that needs regular exercise. He highlights how recognizing and addressing self-sabotage behaviors can build resilience and mental strength, ultimately enhancing performance and well-being, especially for entrepreneurs and executives. Glen urges listeners to assess their self-awareness using a free saboteur assessment, which can help identify and combat these self-sabotaging behaviors. This assessment is a practical tool for those looking to improve their mental fitness and gain a deeper understanding of their own thought patterns.
Glen and Matt turn their attention to leadership, discussing how leaders can foster trust and supportive environments by openly addressing mental health and demonstrating vulnerability. By integrating insights from neuroscience, cognitive behavioral psychology, and positive psychology, Glen offers a roadmap for rewiring the brain to achieve better mental fitness and leadership success.
Timestamps From This Episode
[12:13] Differentiating between genuine self-awareness and perceived self-awareness is crucial. It’s important to recognize the difference as some individuals may believe they are self-aware but may not truly be. Understanding the signs of true self-awareness can help people identify areas for improvement and strive for genuine self-awareness.
[13:39] Manage negative emotions, improve self-awareness, find joy in work and team relationships for peak performance.
[17:06] Prioritizing mental health leads to long-term productivity.
[31:35] Focusing solely on rationality can lead to emotional disconnect and hinder relationship trust. Hyper-achieving may seeking validation through performance. Frustrated by self-judgment, seeking fulfillment in achievements.
[35:26] Comparing, reaching, never satisfied, mental gymnastics, awareness of saboteurs, difficulty in avoidance.
[46:00] Glen encourages leaders and individuals to embrace vulnerability, leverage the “gift of going second,” and promote openness and connection through personal storytelling and sharing experiences, fostering a sense of comfort and understanding in the process.
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About the Show
Bridging the Gap is a financial podcast hosted by CEO Matt Reiner focused on bringing together leaders from the finance and the technology industries to focus on innovating the financial services industry.
