Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jason Walter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jason, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
LOL, I haven’t! But that said, I do my best not to let impostor syndrome limit me. I approach it more so as:
This will happen, and when it does, how do I live with this? I know how to survive, but what does it take to thrive?
I think too often when we struggle with a case of impostor syndrome, or any inner turmoil really, we think of it as an isolated experience, when in fact, it’s very natural to feel and have challenges, which in turn can lead us to question our worth and abilities. And just because you successfully navigate a chapter of it, it’s still human to experience such adversity mutliple times throughout life.
I would venture to say that we all have intrusive thoughts, and nearly every creative, business person, and all-around amazing person impacting her/his family and community that I have talked with about impostor syndrome and belief in oneself, have nearly all expressed battling within from time to time with negative thoughts and questions like:
“I should quit. This sucks.”
“Did I make the right decision?”
“Is this going anywhere?”
“Will it ever be good enough?”
(Insert that loop playing in your head here)
In addition to talking with people about this, developing a mindfulness practice, and working on acceptance of the moment as it is, that’s helped me too. Over the years, I have also read and consumed video or audio content about being a successful artist, creative, businessperson, and more importantly, overall fulfilled person, which feeds into everything.
Another thing is that I’m a big believer in therapy and regularly meet with my therapist to work through processing many things that have occurred in the past and/or that I’m currently grappling with. Some of it might not seem to be directly related to impostor syndrome, but it’s the indirect connection of an unhealthy pattern, the process of bringing it to the surface and applying awareness with a focus on healing, which has allowed me to be more conscious holistically. That helps me to better navigate the many challenges that pop up, like impostor syndrome.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I feel like I’m in a really unique space right now when it comes to the professional and creative facets of my life, how they’re different, and where they overlap, and I’m just super grateful for how things have gone.
I have an awesome job with a company I have alot of love for, get to do fun, fulfilling work that’s a great fit for me and leverages my skills, allowing for growth and creativity. On top of that, we’re committed to making an impact that adds value and helps to support my community and people in need throughout the world.
Outside of that, I continue each day to develop and evolve as an artist and I’m stoked with the direction of soul what, my ongoing art project where I explore ‘soul speak from a to z’ through different mediums.
Right now, I’m currently working on adding the soulwhat podcast into the mix. It’s an outlet that allows me to use my own natural storytelling ability and reflective nature, and a place where I get to highlight people with inspirational stories, who are creating impact in their own way.
All in all, it’s beautiful space to be in and I’m just focused on enjoying and being grateful in that.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I wish I was good at answering these questions, lol, but here goes.
Build a spiritual foundation of some sort – Figure out what this means to you, even if it’s just believing in yourself. I can’t express how much diving deep and exploring my soul and how it connects with the universe around me and how much that helps me every single day I have gifted to wake up and continue. And that doesn’t have to be religious or connected to any particular religion. I think it just comes down to having some sort of Faith in something greater, even if all that is ends up being your own potential and what you’re capable of.
Give breath to the curiosity of your Inner Child – I think one of the worst things we can do is to keep our Inner Child locked up. Some of my greatest creations have come from allowing myself to be curious about life, people, my environment, miscellaneous subject and consuming as much as I can to learn about all of the above.
Recognizing that it’s okay to ask for help – A long time ago, I realized that in order to be effective at helping my community, I had to be willing to receive help as well, and I think this is a pretty crucial piece to the puzzle. It can be simple as asking how to do something. For example, in jiu-jitsu, if someone does something that I don’t understand or haven’t seen, I ask about it so that I can learn and see how to do it myself and/or see if it fits my own game. It can also be complex and relate to something bigger, like a need for healing something within, or rallying more people together to achieve something great.
Bonus: Cultivating a practice of gratitude – To wake up each day is the first gift we get if we do wake up. It means there’s another opportunity to get out there, experience life, spend time with loved ones, and share our gifts with the world. Just being stoked and training ourselves to gravitate on that vibration helps to set the stage for a really awesome day.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Whether that’s collaborating on a creative project together or being able to tell the story of others, I’m definitely open to exploring partnership and collaboration opportunities.
I’m interested in working with people who believe in living, sharing, and being aloha, people, who want to turn on lights by shining their light in dark spaces.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jmaw.substack.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulxwhat
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulxwhat/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menamejmaw/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@soulxwhat
- Other: Threads: https://www.threads.net/@soulxwhat
the soul what podcast: https://shows.podcastle.ai/the-soul-what-podcast-BE3B/
Image Credits
images courtesy of jason walter / @soulxwhat
