Do I come across as unintelligent? I felt that way when I got off of an interview for a podcast. I felt terrible about myself, and I felt like a massive moron. The call really stirred-up a lot of insecurity. So what exactly happened?
When I was being interviewed, everything was going great, and I was being my normal charming & funny self. And then he hits me with a question: what was the last book that I read? Well, I do have a bookshelf in my office, and I do have quite a few books. But very quickly I realized that I don't really read any books. I watch TED talks, I take Skillshare courses, and I listen to podcasts... but I
just don't sit down and read.
I was honest with the guy during the podcast interview, but I still felt like a humongous, dumb failure. After I got off the phone, the incident ate at me so badly. My dad's a big reader; everybody in my space are big readers; internet entrepreneurs are always talking about what they've read and posting about their favorite books & quotes. But truth be told: I don't like to read.
I feel like I should like to read. I feel like in our society not being a reader is viewed ‘bad’, as if you're not seeking knowledge. But over time I have come to a realization that some people like to read and some people don't like to read. I'm not a reader; I'm a doer. I have experiences.
I don't consider myself a stupid individual by any means, but I don't like to acquire knowledge through books. And quite frankly, I learn everything the hard way. I could read 27 books, and they could tell me why I shouldn't do XYZ, but the only thing that really sinks into my dense noggin is the actual experience.
I'm also a really horrible speller. I've always been a terrible speller, and my grammar is not the best either. I'm grateful that computers have spell-check, but even so, I don't send long emails in fear of looking stupid. It's something that I struggle with, and it's something that I've been thinking about since kindergarten.
Speaking of kindergarten, I went to a super progressive “hippie” school where I was taught to spell phonetically. Notably, the school was the last school in the country that taught reading through ITA phonetics. 98% of the kids had no problem switching over, but I was one of the 2% that had issues. As a result, spelling has always been something with which I have struggled.
If you don't like to do something that the world says you 'need to do' in order 'to be something', you are not a bad person. And regardless of how confident we each may be, we all have insecurities, and we have to deal with them. If you don't like to read, it's okay. It doesn't make you stupid. It just makes you you -- unique and special. And what you're better at, someone else may not be as good so
don't beat yourself up.
The incident from the podcast interview made me feel stupid. But I KNOW I'm not stupid. You might be in a similar position or situation as I was, so know that you're amazing and perfect the way that you are. Just be you -- a good person doing the best you can.
Don't allow anybody to put you in a box and get you fixated & focused on trying to live up to somebody else's expectations of what you should be
doing or could be doing. Make sure you're taking care of yourself because there's only one person in the world that you need to make happy, and that is YOU.
Alpha M. POST of the
WEEK
Quarantine beard! Very rough! Been 2 months no trim at all. 😋
This post came from Alpha M. Consulting Facebook group which features all types of engagement- from fitness and style, to grooming and dating. Want to be part of the action? We'd love to have you. Join in the conversation ALPHA M. FACEBOOK
GROUP
IAmAlphaM Week in Review
We Want to Hear from YOU!
Do you have any input,
suggestions, or ideas for this newsletter? Is there anything else you'd like to see? We'd love to hear. Send an email to info@iamalpham.com
