The Next Big Idea Daily Why You’ll Never Rise Above Your Self-Image
8 snips
Jan 29, 2026 
Kelli Thompson, a women's leadership coach and author who helps women advance in male-dominated fields, and Shadé Zahrai, a peak performance educator and former lawyer who trains leaders at Fortune 500 firms, discuss how self-image and self-doubt shape career trajectories. They explore trainable drivers of self-image, tactics to contain overthinking, habits that rebuild self-trust, and practical moves women can use to close confidence and pay gaps.
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Self-Image Shapes Perception
- Your brain filters reality through your self-image, so you respond to expectations not facts.
- Invisible labels shape interactions and can be rewritten to change what you see and feel.
Reframe Labels To Rewire Identity
- Swap limiting labels for empowering reframes like "I'm passionate" instead of "I'm intense."
- Repeat these reframes to weaken old neural pathways and build a new blueprint.
Four Trainable Drivers Of Self-Image
- Self-image breaks down into four trainable attributes: acceptance, agency, autonomy, and adaptability.
- These map to core self-evaluations that predict performance, satisfaction, and earnings.
