We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Karen Moreno Scott. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Karen below.
Karen, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Thank you so much for having me.
I believe that the more we strive for excellence and step out of our comfort zones, the more we experience imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is a term to describe what is really our own inner critic. I experienced this quite a bit when I was writing my memoir, and while it wasn’t easy to do, I worked through it by learning to shift my perspective.
I shifted my perspective by learning to think about imposter syndrome, or my inner critic, as an overprotective parent or sibling who instills fear and doubt in an attempt to protect their loved one from doing what they perceive as scary or dangerous. Much the same, my imposter syndrome was really my own mind instilling fear and doubt in me in order to protect me from doing what it perceived as scary. Because let’s be honest, writing a book about your life story is quite scary.
So now, whenever I’m doing something that can feel big and scary, I fully expect that my inner critic is going to show up. The difference is that I no longer approach imposter syndrome as my self-sabotaging enemy, but rather a loving protector I can sooth through affirming self-dialogue. By giving myself space to counter the negative thoughts with affirmations, I am able to quickly regain clarity, and refocus without getting stuck in questioning myself, my worth or my worthiness.
When we learn to use our inner critic’s voice differently, the words we speak to and about ourselves will also be different.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Several years ago, I embarked on a healing journey that transformed my life. It was then that I realized I have an innate gift of making others feel seen, safe and supported, which helped me realize that my life’s purpose was to be of service by supporting and guiding others in their healing and personal growth journeys.
That is when I began my coursework in professional life coaching. A year later, with enough money saved to venture on my own, I left my non-profit job and opened my coaching practice. I was so grateful for the technology that allowed me to see my clients virtually.
Since then, I have become a Reiki practitioner and sound bath facilitator, I have written and independently published my debut memoir, have had the privilege of traveling to my mother’s homeland of Guatemala to facilitate healing retreats, and have facilitated sound baths for private and public groups throughout Southern California.
Of all my professional accomplishments, however, the most personally rewarding work I get to do is volunteering as an in-house practitioner at Circle of Hope, Inc., in Santa Clarita, California. Circle of Hope is a national non-profit organization that provides emotional, educational and financial assistance, as well as supportive wellness therapies to the cancer community.
After losing my mother to ovarian cancer in 2007, I wanted to support the cancer community, but didn’t know how. Then, during the pandemic, I received a call from a former colleague who invited me to join the team of volunteer practitioners at Circle of Hope, and I could not have felt happier accepting the invitation.
I am fortunate that as I continue learning and growing, my reach and my business also continuously expand. However, my mission is and will remain to create safe, loving and affordable spaces for women to heal without the fear of judgment, shaming or blaming. I believe this is necessary and essential for the wellness of all communities.
It takes just one person to create a ripple effect. My mission is to create a ripple effect wherever I go.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Reflecting on my own journey, the three qualities I would focus on are, self-motivation, flexibility and resilience.
Having been raised by my immigrant single mother, who often worked multiple jobs, taught me that the best and most effective way to get ahead in life is to be self-motivated, because there won’t always be somebody there to hold your hand or encourage you. Opportunities are never to be wasted and you must be willing to give everything you’ve got to everything you do.
As an adult, I learned the hard way that being inflexible can lead to stress, emotional suffering, and can have a negative impact on relationships. Flexibility gives us permission to accept people, situations and circumstances as they are, without needing to fix, change or control them. Being flexible also means letting ourselves off the hook from having all the answers or having everything all figured out. In a nutshell, flexibility is freedom from unnecessary burdens, pain and suffering.
At one point or another, we will all fall. But falling doesn’t mean you have failed, or that you are broken or defeated. What falling does, is that it teaches us to pick ourselves up off the ground, and that starting over doesn’t mean you’re starting from scratch, because not only did you survive and overcome, you learned to become resilient along the way.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Overwhelm is something all of us experience at one point or another, because the demands we put on ourselves can feel heavy and burdensome.
Three things I personally do to ease or avoid overwhelm are, eliminating multitasking, establishing and honoring my boundaries, and learning to get comfortable with saying, No!
I realize this is an approach that not everyone is comfortable with, so here are a three simple steps I recommend to ease or work through overwhelm:
The first step is to recognize and admit to yourself when you are feeling overwhelmed. Often, for the sake of pleasing others or making everyone else’s life easier, we take on more than we can handle and when we find ourselves sinking, we feel ashamed or embarrassed to admit it to ourselves, much less anyone else.
The second step is to manage your expectations of self, reorganize and prioritize tasks accordingly by asking yourself the following questions:
-What needs or requires immediate attention?
-What can wait or be put off for a later date/time?
-How can I tackle these tasks without feeling overwhelmed?
-Who can I ask for support or assistance if I cannot complete these tasks myself?
This brings me to the third and final step, which is to give yourself permission to delegate and/or ask for support as often as necessary! If you have a partner or children, colleagues or employees, it’s okay to ask them to pitch in. If you are single or a solopreneur and have a community or tribe you can lean on, don’t be embarrassed to reach out to them. More often than not, the people who care about you also care about your wellbeing, and will help if/when you need it. All you have to do is reach out and ask.
And always remember that it is okay to not be okay.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.karenmorenoscott.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenmorenoscott/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-moreno-scott-9038b15b/
Image Credits
Aureli Davis Verenice Navarro
