Dr. Joan Rosenberg, PhD is a psychologist who studies how human beings become more resilient. She had her own challenges as an extremely shy child. She shares her insights into overcoming adversity and developing confidence.
LINKS AND RESOURCES:
Learn more about and connect with Dr. Joan Rosenberg
Get the book “90 Seconds to a Life You Love”
Get a free gift from Dr. Rosenberg
Listen to the TEDx Talk “Emotional Mastery”
Listen to the TEDx Talk “Grief: The Pathway to Forgiveness”

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS WITH DR. ROSENBERG:

* [07:44] We all feel different, and we all want to belong. Rosenberg grew up shy and feeling different from her peers. It made her wonder: how does someone have confidence to interact with the world? And later in her professional life: what is it that makes it so difficult for people to handle unpleasant feelings? The answer to both is in how we develop confidence to handle emotional outcomes.
* [13:32] Your hard trials can lead to confidence. Part of confidence cultivation is the attitude of wanting to develop it, but three other key realizations play large parts: don’t quit (because there isn’t anyone that hasn’t “failed),” none of us achieve success alone so ask for help, and rejection is only disappointment. You can work through disappointment, and failures are only learning opportunities.
* [21:14] The Eight Unpleasant Emotions. Rosenberg has identified eight emotions that are necessary to be able to work through to develop confidence, resiliency, and emotional strength to handle life’s emotional outcomes.
* [25:37] How can you handle anxiety? Anxiety is too broad of a term for what you experience; if the word was removed from your vocabulary, what’s really going on then? Putting words to your emotions calms you, and gives you something to work with.
* [30:31] How self-critical are you? Harsh self-criticism is a thought hijack of unpleasant feelings. We don’t control that we feel, or what we feel, but we do control how and what we think to some degree. Don’t let the criticism make your unpleasant feeling worse (and, learn how to accept and feel compliments!)
* [44:18] Speak up and be assertive. When we speak, things become more real to us. When we’re telling the truth of who we are, we live a much more authentic, confident, and genuine life. Our connections with others deepen, and more opportunities come to us.

TRANSCRIPT:

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