ool ourselves
It’s easy to think that we aren’t easily fooled.
No, not by a magician. We are not fooled by spammers or hustlers.
You are the only one who can fool you.
Do you always see the same thing when you look at yourself in the mirror? Or do you sometimes see someone who is less attractive (or more attractive) than other people do?
Are we assuming that those who don’t understand our work are confused or misguided if they do not see the value of it?
We may feel like a fraud, an impostor or an unseen genius.
All of these are forms of self-deception.
Asking “Is it working?” is a good way to start.
Maybe they are right. If they don’t see the value, we could develop empathy and understand what is missing from our narrative of what we do or what we do.
Market to yourself before you market to others.
It might be worth it to live with our self-deception if it proves to be a reliable fuel source for us in achieving our goals. At some point though, the ability to deceive ourselves can become toxic. It hinders our ability to produce generous and useful work and erodes our peace of mind and confidence.
It is not easy for us to see ourselves through the eyes of others. They may be onto something.
