Today it’s great to have Amy Alkon on the podcast. Amy Alkon is a “transdisciplinary applied scientist”, who synthesizes research findings from various areas, translates the findings into understandable language, and then creates practical advice based on the latest science. Alkon writes The Science Advice Goddess, an award-winning, syndicated column that runs in newspapers across the United States and Canada. Amy’s latest book is Unf*ckology: A Field Guide to Living With Guts and Confidence.
In this episode you will learn:
- The importance of action for overcoming your fears
- How people-pleasing backfires
- How you can use fear as a tool for change
- How to “impersonate your way to being the real you”
- Why authenticity is overrated
- How to have a secure self-esteem
- How to reduce shame
- How Amy asked for feedback while she was dating
- How to have the courage to say “no”
- Why it’s better to have systems than goals
- “The importance of “small wins”
- Why dating is a numbers game
- How to feel more empowered in your life
I always enjoy your podcast, thank you! However… there’s something with all of these self-help writers trying to sell their books (and maybe in academia as well) where they create this pretense that they’ve stumbled on a brand new idea that only they can tell you about. Her claim at the start that therapists do not promote action but just have you whine is a bit bizarre.. has she heard of cognitive behavioral therapy? – where the easiest and first step we recommend is to change behavior, i.e. to take action.
Hello, I come humbly and very thankful than stumbled across such a valiant woman’s wisdom earned through years of perseverance and hugely respectable courage. My name is also Amy and I see myself in Amy Alkon sincerely. I have battled with a severe disability all my life, the twist is that on the outside I look pretty normal. So learning to compensate for a deficit has been a life long strong.. but I myslef have learned that, exactly as Amy says, action is the way to salvation in a way. And it never stops. I’m thankful for my deficiencies because through them I become stronger.
Anyways, I found the show delightful and enlightening in a way that I really have take time to mull over the topics for my betterment. They are very important to my growth. Thanks for doing work you do to help people that don’t always like they are f*cki ng perfect.
I’ve found this episode quite intriguing and thoughtful, I’ve even laughed a couple of times.What I found most interesting is the transformation of Amy, I felt her emotion of being rejected and abandoned by the people around her, the way she dealt with that is simply moving on and away from all this negativity, and I presume luck wes on her side when she found new friends that admire her for what she are,however, luck can’t be always on your side and it can’t be the only factor to depend on in your life decisions.What I felt a bit hesitant about is her concept of taking the identity of another person and using it to develop yours, when I first heard (I haven’t actually read the book yet but I’ll check it out for sure) this statement I thought about as a peaceful way to overcome the introverted side of a person and develop a strong personality on the other hand, but then I saw how it could clearly backfire to some people who use this concept continuously; they might use the other persona too much that it shifts and becomes the main lead and we’re left with nearly identical personas. This concept may cause a big decrease in self improvement and orginallity, which might not be good for the society and influence on new generations. This concept needs a bit of development but if a person has good self control then I highly recommend it. I’ve enjoyed this episode and this experience and I hope to see more work of Amy in the near future.