Happiness expert explains why 'imposter syndrome' is a good thing and how to lean into it

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/arthur-brooks-lean-into-imposter-syndrome

Real people share 17 red flags that expose someone trying to appear wiser than they actually are

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/people-share-17-signs-of-low-intelligence-that-immediately-raise-red-flags-about-how-smart-someone-is

Durch euch ist mein Leben voller Glück – Thanks to you, my life is full of happiness

(English below)

Pädagogen, Wissenschaftler, ja, Menschen mit klarem Verstand, wissen, daß Bildung wichtig ist und einen entscheidenden Einfluß auf die Lebensperspektive eines jeden Menschen hat.
Wie heißt es so schön? „Grau ist alle Theorie“. So richtig diese Theorie auch ist, sie wird erst mit Leben erfüllt, wenn sie von jungen Menschen mit Leben erfüllt wird und sie das aus eigener Erfahrung bestätigen.

Mindestens einmal im Jahr schreiben unsere Patenkinder an ihre Paten einen Brief, in dem sie ein wenig von sich selbst erzählen, wie es ihnen geht und welchen lebensverändernden Einfluß die Bildung hat, die sie dank ihrer Paten genießen können.
Lassen wir sie selbst zu Wort kommen:

„Ich möchte Ihnen meinen aufrichtigen Dank für Ihre großzügige Unterstützung aussprechen. Ihr Beitrag hat einen bedeutenden Unterschied gemacht und mir geholfen, meine Ziele mit Zuversicht und Motivation zu verfolgen. … Ich schätze Ihre Freundlichkeit, Ihr Vertrauen und Ihre anhaltende Unterstützung sehr. Vielen Dank, dass Sie an mich glauben und mich so positiv beeinflusst haben.“

„Ich möchte Ihnen meinen aufrichtigen Dank für Ihre Unterstützung meiner Ausbildung aussprechen. Dank Ihrer Förderung kann ich die Schule besuchen und mich ganz auf mein Studium konzentrieren. Ich mache stetige Fortschritte und hoffe, dass ich mit Ihrer freundlichen Hilfe auch in diesem Jahr weitermachen kann.“

„Ich bin ein glücklicher Mensch, jemanden wie Sie zu haben. Ich schätze Ihre Hilfe, die mich zu einem klugen Menschen macht …“

„Ich bin Ihnen wirklich dankbar für Ihre Freundlichkeit und Unterstützung, die mir geholfen haben, meine Ausbildung fortzusetzen.“

„Meine Familie und ich … danken Ihnen von ganzem Herzen für die Liebe, die Sie uns entgegengebracht haben, um mir bei meinem Studium zu helfen. … Sie haben viel aufgegeben, um mir zu helfen, meine Schulausbildung fortzusetzen.“

„Sie haben mir bei all meinen Studien geholfen, und heute studiere ich ohne jeglichen Druck.“

„Mit Ihnen ist mein Leben voller Glück, und ich wünsche mir, dass wir noch mehr Gründe haben, zu lächeln und einander zu lieben.“

„Sie haben mir geholfen, härter zu arbeiten und mir ein klares Ziel zu setzen, um erfolgreich zu sein.“

„Ich bin Ihnen dankbar für Ihre Hilfe, die mich zu dem gemacht hat, der ich heute bin.“

Wir freuen uns, daß unsere Jugendlichen aus eigener Erfahrung spüren, wie wertvoll die Chance ist, die sie durch die Förderung ihrer Paten bekommen, und diese Gelegenheit für ein hoffnungsvolles und selbstbestimmtes Leben in Würde beim Schopfe fassen.




Educators, scientists, indeed, people with clear minds, know that education is important and has a decisive influence on every person’s outlook on life.
How does the saying go? “All theory is gray.” As true as this theory is, it only comes to life when young people fill it with life and confirm it from their own experience.

At least once a year, our sponsored children write a letter to their sponsors in which they tell them a little about themselves, how they are doing, and what a life-changing influence the education they are able to enjoy thanks to their sponsors has had on them.
Let’s hear from them directly:

„I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your generous support. Your contribution has made a meaningful difference and has helped me progress toward my goals with confidence and motivation. … I truly appreciate your kindness, trust, and continued support. Thank you for believing in me and for the positive impact you have made.“

„I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for your support of my education; your sponsorship has allowed me to attend school and pursue my studies with focus. I am making steady progress, and I hope to continue this year with
your kind help.“

„I am a lucky person to have someone like you. I appreciate your help which makes me a clever person…“

„I am truly grateful for your kindness and support which has helped me to continue my education.“

„Me and my family … thank you with a moving heart for the love you have shown us to help me in my studies. … You lost many things so that you helped me to continue my school.“

„You helped me in all my studies and nowadays I am studying without any pressure.“

„With you my life is filled with happiness and I wish we have more reason to smile and love each other.“

„You helped me to work harder and to set a strong goal of succeeding.“

„I appreciate you for your help that you give me that makes me the one who I am now.“

We are delighted that our young people can see from their own experience how valuable the opportunity they receive through their sponsors‘ support is, and that they are seizing this opportunity for a hopeful and self-determined life in dignity.

Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

The competence of those who wish to operate a car are subject to the licensure regulation by their state. Older drivers are additionally subject to medical scrutiny, by a doctor whose privilege to practice medicine is, itself, regulated by that state. The point is, just to be able to operate something as mundane as a car, the person must submit to a hierarchy of independent scrutineers whose conduct is governed by a hierarchy of regulations and laws. And these control points exist for very obvious and sensible reasons.

But such reasonable #regulation of and independent #scrutiny of #competence is utterly absent, when it comes to #gun ownership and #WhiteHouse occupancy.

Holding public officials accountable? Bring it on. Frank & fearless advice? Yes please.

Having created a system where senior officials know they hold office only as long as they serve their ministers’ political interests, we now live with the slow poison.

The tenacious Rick Morton is not going to let this go.

#governanace #integrity #competence #ethics #RoboDebt

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/share/22492/2jMjgB2i

How and where does life originate in the universe? Three new National Centres of #Competence in #Research led by ETH Zurich and partner universities study life’s origins, precise measurement, and how Switzerland handles growing #ClimateExtremes.

Three new Research Centres of ...

Inspiration feels good. Execution gets results. Professionals work on schedule, not on mood.

#Execution #ProfessionalMindset #Productivity #QuietPower #Competence #SystemsThinking #FinishWork #Builders #OperationalExcellence #Clarity

https://thedigitalcove.blog/2026/01/28/execution-over-inspiration-2026/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

>We talked to protesters in #Minneapolis. Here's what they said.<

#PoliticalCommunication #RebuildDemocracy

#People #Civilians #Community
#Competence #Solidarity

#Citoyen

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bTe2kCoAM2I&si=yrtTmAMimzmF3VbF

Motivation is optional. Systems are not. In 2026, progress belongs to workflows that work on ordinary days.

#Workflows #ProductivitySystems #QuietPower #Competence #Execution #SystemsThinking #Builders #Focus #SustainableWork #Clarity

https://thedigitalcove.blog/2026/01/26/workflows-that-dont-depend-on-motivation-2026/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Responsibility Is a Punishment

https://ericfoltin.com/2026/01/26/responsibility-is-a-punishment/

Competency, Proxies, and Political Standing: A Conceptual Diagnosis or On the Rhetoric of Democratic Inclusion.

Latest addition to the Anti-Enlightenment project: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18063791

#democracy #philosophy #politics #psychology #society #humancondition #voting #rights #ageism #consent #governance #suffrage #rhetoric #law #inclusion #competence #tea #essay

Have you ever wondered why Democracies have virtually no competency requirements? 🧐
👉 https://philosophics.blog/2025/12/26/democracy-competence-and-the-curious-case-of-the-missing-test/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social
This is a topic of my latest preprint. Have you ever wondered why election results look like they do? Browsing social media comments makes one wonder why we don't have minimum standards.
#democracy #philosophy #politics #psychology #society #humancondition #voting #rights #ageism #consent #governance #suffrage #rhetoric #law #inclusion #competence #blog #podcast #tea #teddybears

#USA Nowadays
#FunctionalMelancholic

Lack of the 3 C's:

#Community
#Competence
#Character

"So how do we actually survive this transition without completely losing our minds?
I think it has to start with a kind of mental decolonization.
You have to stop measuring your worth by the metrics of a machine that's currently just grinding you into dust. If you can't afford a house, chances are it it's not a character flaw or personal failure. It's a structural one."

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lPbCU0exwuo&si=MHwMMP5DP7U32uOH

#Shorts La #compétence tue la notion de #métier, c'est notre ennemi à tous (FRANCK LEPAGE) #travail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd30eTRjSIw

The Inca masonry masterpiece: a 45-minute snooze-fest revealing that rocks stacked by a civilization with 10 million people wasn't actually done by aliens 🛸🪨. Astounding revelation: humans used hands and tools before Europeans showed up with their *superior* techniques 😂. Who knew ancient people could be so... competent? 🤷‍♂️🔍
https://www.earthasweknowit.com/pages/inca_construction #IncaMasonry #HumanIngenuity #AncientCivilizations #Archaeology #AlienMyths #Competence #HackerNews #ngated

Metal teaches what modern systems have forgotten: reality has structure, standards cannot be corrupted, and weight must actually be borne.

Use metal as your standard — does it work when reality tests it, or does it just produce documentation about working?

In the forge, honest work meets honest resistance. No committees. No credentials. Just manifestation.

🔗 https://kairos-prometheon.com/en/blog/2025-12-18-metal-manifesto/

#philosophy #liberty #individualism #reality #competence #sovereignty #craftsmanship #metalworking

Ce sont ces même gens qui : 1/ gèrent vos "identités numériques garanties". 2/ souhaitent des backdoors (dans les logiciels existant qu'apparemment ils peinent à maitriser déjà ô0) #Compétence? #PasEnFrance! #certitude ^^'

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ug64elynwv5wsbg6cgr75hc3/post/3ma7gk2pecb24

Looking at #HammvSmith, the wild #SupremeCourt case in which #Alabama is desperate to give the #DeathPenalty to someone who their own #courts found #IntellectuallyDisabled, despite it violating the #8thAmendment of the #constitution according to many past rulings. Alabama argues that his #IQtest scores range between 72 and 78, above the limit of 70. Defense counters that experts agree that #IQ is a flawed measure, that he has issues that aren't going to show on IQ tests, and that 72 is so low that the margin of error would reach below 70.

Meanwhile, the courts found multiple times that he was not competent for #execution, and let's be really honest here, everyone, even the #prosecutors, think he is #MentallyDisabled. This feels to me like #DoubleJeopardy and nitpicking: the courts already said he didn't meet the standard of #competence, and the #prosecutor is basically asking the supreme #court to have lower courts ignore facts whenever a state wants to kill people.

https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/court-appears-divided-on-whether-lower-courts-properly-found-death-row-inmate-to-be-intellectually-disabled/

We've been conditioned to police tone over substance, to value the appearance of decorum over actual #competence or #character. We've let the people with power redefine #professionalism to protect themselves while weaponizing it against everyone else.

#WorkplaceCulture #DoubleStandards #Leadership #Accountability

https://open.substack.com/pub/differsense/p/the-quiet-piggy-standard-of-leadership?r=5h4wg0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

PsyPost: Personalization algorithms create an illusion of competence, study finds. “The findings provide evidence that when algorithms tailor information to a user’s behavior, that user may develop a biased understanding of the subject while simultaneously feeling overconfident in their inaccurate knowledge.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/07/psypost-personalization-algorithms-create-an-illusion-of-competence-study-finds/