Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges

by Amy Cuddy

impostor,

Trying to be like somebody

treppenwitz.

Thinking of perfect reply too late

Presence is removing judgment, walls, and masks so as to create a true and deep connection with people or experiences. — Pam, Washington State, USA

I think of it as the experience of knowing and feeling that you’re being your most sincere and courageous self. It is autonomously and honestly expressing your values through your actions.

Professor Claude Steele, well-known Stanford University social psychologist and author, defined a process by which we try to defeat the threat before it even exists: we affirm our most deeply held values — the best parts of ourselves — before entering into a potentially threatening situation. He called this self-affirmation theory.