Dunning-Kruger, Imposter Syndrome, and When You Can’t Believe Yourself

September 28, 2019September 28, 2019 / The Black Hat Baker / 3 Comments

Good morning, friends and neighbors! Today’s topic is one that I’ve been thinking about for a while because not only does it come up in creative life and professional life… it’s also an excuse to flex a bit of my dusty BA in Psychology.

With the increasing diagnoses of anxiety and depression among the American population, “imposter syndrome” is a term that gets used to express frustration and self-criticism of one’s accomplishments. Slightly less well-known (but increasingly used in recent years) is “the Dunning-Kruger Effect,” which is oversimplified in order to be used as a criticism of others.

The truth is they are two sides of the same coin- we experience both in our lives, and the impact of them change how we handle our work, our creative projects, our relationships, and ourselves.

So if you came looking for Freddy Kruger, you’ll have wait about a month. Sorry- just a bunch of fascinating psychology today.

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The Comedown- Beating an Anxiety Feedback Loop

August 24, 2019August 23, 2019 / The Black Hat Baker / 1 Comment

Good evening, friends and neighbors.

I’m pretty sure I’m incapable of actually being on vacation. Moving the body doesn’t necessarily move the brain.

Emily and I finally managed to get nine days of vacation together, spending most of them in Corvallis, Oregon and being hosted by an old high-school friend of mine and her husband.

For the first time in three years, I am on a trip where I truly have nothing to worry about… except for the fact that I have nothing to worry about. It’s hard to beat a habit of a lifetime.

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Young And Hungry- The Millennial Cook

March 2, 2019February 28, 2019 / The Black Hat Baker / Leave a comment

Good afternoon, friends and neighbors.

I am a cook. More specifically, I am a baker- or pastry cook, as one of my previous job titles went.

I am also, by virtue of being born in the late 80s, a member of that currently-most-accursed of demographics… a millennial.

And things are getting real out here, folks.

“… Millennial!”

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To Be Of Service

August 5, 2018December 14, 2018 / The Black Hat Baker / 3 Comments

Good morning, friends and neighbors!

The night before last, I had discovered Overdrive and Libby– apps for Kindle/iPad/etc that let you borrow ebooks and audiobooks from any library you have a library card for, and download them straight to your device.
So after running through the catalog like a kid in a candy store, I decided to go ahead and borrow a recipe book by a famous pastry chef I’d never heard of. If that sounds odd in your head, don’t worry- there’s a lot of famous people you’ve never heard of.

I honestly do like a good, well-written, lovingly photographed or illustrated cookbook. One thing that does sometimes happen, though- and this is no one’s fault but my own- is that really beautiful work and food can make me utterly depressed.