Retelling Our Stories
Discover the themes that empower our lives
I attended an online discussion last week on the Asian immigrant experience where one of the panelists, Micah Kessel, said some things that resonated with me. He talked about how empathy meant treating our experiences and those of others as valid — even if we don’t always agree or understand each other. I was so impressed with his sharing that I looked up his website. According to his bio, Micah pivoted from a theater background to human-centered design to starting a company that creates empathy training for organizations. The bio skillfully showcased his experiences and achievements, and my attention was caught by the seamless connection between his theater background and his understanding of the relationship between emotions and design. It gave his story a sense of wholeness. This approach was so different from how I saw my own work history that it got me thinking.
I often downplay my experiences and see myself as “not good enough” for what I want to do next. Part of that tendency is cultural — Chinese people are trained see what’s missing and keep ourselves humble, while Americans are trained to puff themselves up. But then again, many Americans don’t believe in themselves, either-otherwise, imposter syndrome wouldn’t be a thing. This tendency to see what’s not enough has made it so difficult to share my…
