Sunday Rewind: Banish your inner critic by Denise Jacobs

This week’s Sunday Rewind is a 2019 #mtpcon San Francisco keynote from author Denise Jacobs which looks at what blocks us from doing our best work.

Denise says that product managers tend to have strong inner critics because they have a broad knowledge across business, technology and user experience, and work with domain experts. But an inner critic blocks creativity.

We all have negative thoughts, but also have mental power tools to combat our inner critic. These include neuroplasticity, the ability to step outside our thoughts and self-compassion.

To stop self-sabotage Denise says we should remind ourselves that just because we think something, that doesn’t mean it’s true. We should be intentional about the words we use and recognise when we catastrophise.

Denise adds that we only experience imposter syndrome when we are competent and skilled and introduces the Expert Enough Manifesto to help us realise we don’t have to be expert on every topic.

Watch the original talk: Banish your inner critic by Denise Jacobs