
Overcomers Approach
“The Overcomers Approach” podcast showcases stories of resilience, where individuals transcend challenges to achieve personal and professional success. With a focus on spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, and financial growth, the podcast inspires listeners to embrace their potential and thrive in all areas of life. Join us to learn how overcoming adversity can lead to evolution, healing, and lasting success.
Overcomers Approach
Conquering Self-Doubt: A Psychologist's Guide for creatives, entrepreneurs, artists and influencers
Ever feel like you're playing a role in your own life? Dr. Albert Bramante, psychologist and veteran entertainment industry professional, joins the Overcomers Approach podcast to reveal why so many talented performers struggle with debilitating self-doubt.
Drawing from his doctoral research and over twenty years of experience as a talent agent, Dr. Bramante unpacks the psychological underpinnings of imposter syndrome in actors and other creative professionals. He explains how constant rejection combines with childhood wounds to create powerful patterns of self-sabotage that can derail even the most promising careers.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn as Dr. Bramante breaks down the Big Five personality traits and how they predict success or struggle for performing artists. His research revealed that high emotional reactivity paired with low discipline creates the perfect storm for self-defeating behaviors. For actors wondering why they keep hitting the same walls, this framework offers clarifying insights and actionable solutions.
Among the practical strategies shared is the "Happy File" technique from Dr. Bramante's book "Rise Up off the Script." This simple but powerful practice gives performers a concrete way to combat doubt during career lulls by documenting past victories and positive feedback. Additionally, he addresses the paradoxical impact of social media on artists' mental health, explaining why "doom scrolling" creates isolation rather than connection.
Whether you're a professional performer, public speaker, or anyone who struggles with showing up authentically in high-pressure situations, this episode delivers psychological insights and practical techniques to help you overcome self-doubt and reach your creative potential. Ready to step into the spotlight with genuine confidence? This conversation shows you how to start.
Subscribe now and share this episode with someone you know who could benefit from breaking free of imposter syndrome. For more resources, visit albertbramante.com or follow the Overcomers Approach podcast for ongoing conversations with inspiring guests. More on Dr. Bramante at https://albertbramante.com/
Thank you for listening!
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Thank you for listening!
Good day everyone. This is Nicole Ellis-McGregor, the founder of the Overcomers Approach podcast, where I meet with people from different walks of life, different experiences, different accomplishments, different journeys, and I love the fact that I have Dr Albert Ramate here today to talk about what he brings to the table, what his experience has been. He has more than two decades of experience in the entertainment industry. He holds a PhD in psychology from Walden University. Additionally, he is a certified hypnotist and NLP practitioner, bringing a unique blend of psychological insight and practical enterprise to his work. Driven by a passion for both the performing arts and the human psyche, he embarked on a mission to empower actors to overcome self-sabotage and unlock their full potential.
Speaker 1:Throughout his impressive career, Dr Bramante has achieved remarkable success asa talent agent, securing roles for actors in a wide array of productions, including TV shows, films, commercials, Broadway and off-Broadway performances. I think that Dr Bramante could really speak to us actors, actresses, those in. I feel like social media brings a presence that we all really need to really step up our roles, whatever that is. So I feel like this can go across the board for actresses, actresses, those who have to present in front of people. And so, Dr Bramante, thank you for being here today to have this authentic conversation and about the experience and expertise that you bring to the table. I really appreciate you having me here. Thank you, Thank you, I'm so happy that you are here. I want to say could you explain why does imposter syndrome impact a lot of actors and actresses or people that have to present, no matter what role they have in life? Why do you think that's a huge factor with people?
Speaker 2:Well, I can start unpacking it for actors, because most of the time actors are dealing with constant no speed, hold, no, you know they're not getting a job there.
Speaker 2:You know, because there's so much competition it's an overly saturated, yeah, the performing arts space.
Speaker 2:So we get a lot of nose over time and that can often add to, you know, the imposter syndrome coming in for sure.
Speaker 2:Oh, also what what comes up is, especially if we're dealing with any type of residual trauma or impact from what we have when our children, maybe our parents, ridiculed us or we had, you know, a school teacher that was really critical about, you know, some of the things we've done, and therefore we kind of carry that on onwards over and over again in the other aspects of our lives and so that becomes almost like our inner critic, essentially, yes, and it becomes our, it just becomes a part of us and we start internalizing things, you know, internalizing these inner voices that may not be entirely friendly.
Speaker 2:And so then we just start to kind of like relive those messages over and over again To I'm not good enough, I'm not this and that, and also our minds tend to distort. Now, I'm not downplaying the message that we might have received, but a lot of times we exaggerate. Yes, you know what we heard and we kind of come to our own conclusions of what was exactly in the message. Yes, yes, you know what we heard and we kind of come to our own conclusions of what was exactly in the message.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, I totally understand and can relate to that. I have a master's degrees in human services with a minor in family family studies concentration and I think definitely, when you talk about past traumas and then constantly having to come up against you know, hear and know constantly and have that inner critic to probably say a lot of things to you internally and that really could impact people really stepping forward into their fullest potential, I can definitely see that impact, their fullest potential. I can definitely see that impact. Um, what have you seen or what? What do you feel? Like I know you spoke of when someone feels overwhelmed with self-doubt and they consider leaving their passion. Maybe they consider leaving, acting, uh, or they consider moving into a different space because they're just the voices are too much and the self-doubt is just overwhelming and they may want to leave. What suggestions would you give them to continue to carry on? Or what experiences or what methods do you think work?
Speaker 2:Well, the first thing I would really try to get to the bottom of, or at least the the heart of, is what exactly is their thought process? Why do they want to quit? Yeah, now, for some people it may not be a lot longer in alignment anymore.
Speaker 2:So then, you know, we could talk about pivoting, you know, and not necessarily like leaving, but pivoting but however on the other hand, if someone is, let's say, they want to quit, because they're getting these messages from you know opposition from family or friends, then that's another story, you know, then we would kind of really connect to you, know who you are. Because at the end of the day, we have to live our lives on our terms, not on somebody else's terms, not on our family or somebody else's terms. We have to live on our terms.
Speaker 1:That's right, I agree. I like the fact that you said maybe it's no longer in alignment of what we want to do and really kind of doing a self-awareness check or really understanding is this you or is this your family, and what are the voices coming from? And to really you know I think for me is really or from my understanding is really to live your true, authentic self and purpose and really kind of deciphering, getting down to the nuts and bolts of why do you want to leave and is it you or is it somebody else, and I like the fact that you said that. I think that's very, very important. How does understanding personality traits like those from the big five help artists in their personal and professional lives? Could you give me a little bit more detail on the big five and what did that mean?
Speaker 2:Sure, Sure Well, in the 60s and 70s we started really looking at personality traits yes and the community and at first it was like you know. I mean, if you think about it, if you look at all the traits and dictionaries of 400, you know that of humans that describe our human personality yeah and in the 80s there was a model that kind of brought it down to just five.
Speaker 2:You know five big words, five factor, the big five, let's call it so. And in that capacity we have all of us have five levels of five different traits. We have openness, conscientiousness, extroversion or evilness, and neurosis. So let's break, you know, kind of unpack each one.
Speaker 2:So, the first one is openness. Now, to be creative right is all about being open-minded, open to new ideas, and that is so important, you know, because, especially if you're going to work in any type of creative space, you have to be open, open-minded, and that means being exposed to different viewpoints, different ideas that may not necessarily you agree with or are comfortable with initially in the beginning. So I think it's important to expose all children should be exposed to different cultures and different viewpoints. Then we have conscientiousness, which refers to your discipline, your mental focus, your mental clarity and just your overall work ethic. Now, the higher you are in conscientiousness, the more likelihood you're going to be successful in life, because really successful people are, you know, highly on a highly conscientious side.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, um no clarity on that. Highly conscientious does that mean like on a conscience level, like they're just more internal in terms of highly attuned to where they are consciously? Just for clarity, yeah.
Speaker 2:No, this is more about discipline. You know when you talk about, like being conscientious.
Speaker 2:Got it, so that means being focused, being, you know, being disciplined yes, thank you and just really having a track mind for success. This is one of the biggest predictors of success in life the more conscious, the more disciplined you are. That's good, thank you. And artists need that because, again, it's less than show business. It's called show business for a reason. The second word of that is business. So, and then the third album is extraversion.
Speaker 2:Now, I'm not meeting extra version, since you have to be the life of the party or that, you know, speaking in front of thousands of people. But you, we need the ability to connect with other people and be able to initiate conversations, need the ability to connect with other people and be able to initiate conversations and be comfortable in our own skin and doing that. And so we need a somewhat of a um, at least a moderate degree of extroversion. Yeah, uh, there's have to be high. And then agreeableness means you know how willing are you able follow directions, respect authority, and, especially when it comes to actors and creatives, you have to be coachable. Oh, good, and that's that's a big element too is, if you want to be successful in any type of discipline, you have to be coachable. Got it? Yeah, and then, uh, the last one is neuroticism, which referred which sounds a little extreme than what it is, but it really just refers to your emotional reactivity.
Speaker 2:So, if you're the type of person that gets depressed or anxious very easily then, you would be higher in neuroticism area.
Speaker 2:If you're more laid back, you'd be lower. Now how this relates to even self-sabotage, and this is what I do in my doctoral dissertation. You know, when looking at self-sabotaged and this is what I do in my doctoral dissertation. You know, when looking at self-defeating behavior and performing artists I did the big five as one of my models I found that people that were high in neuroticism and paired with low inconscientiousness was really related to the degree of self-sabotage. Ooh, that's good, because it was definitely high in the emotional reactivity and low in the business. That's a thing. Now, most people underestimate how I mean overestimate. I should say not underestimate, overestimate how disciplined they are, and they find out very often that they're not as disciplined, as I think they are.
Speaker 1:Got it. That is good, wow, wow. I like the fact of the openness. Like you said, be open to creativity, different views, different experiences, because that is going to open up and expand your mind to more creativity 100%, and that's exactly what creativity is.
Speaker 2:It's looking at novel or, you know, different solutions to everyday problems.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And that's how most inventions happen, because people are being creative or thinking outside the box.
Speaker 1:That's right and I love that and that's really like confirmation for myself. I'm sure it's confirmation for some of my people who listen to Overcomers Approach, especially, who are in this space of maybe they're stuck and really being able to really explore what those possibilities are, what those solutions are, and not thinking inside the box and just letting their imaginations kind of run with them to see what the outcome could potentially be. I love that, and discipline is a word that's been coming up in my conversations with a lot of people within the past year, because we're finding out just how critical discipline is to their lives. Whatever that goal is or whatever they need to do, they have to have a sense of discipline to do what they do. I think with a lot of artists. My husband works in the entertainment industry and so he's been in it for 20 plus 25 years and what I just see in him in terms of his discipline and consistency is bar none, I mean, and I strive for that, but initially it was for me it was a hard take to really like understand, like how you, how you, how you're just so disciplined at what you do, but it gets great outcomes, you know, and consistency is major and I love the fact that you said that as well and I know that I love that.
Speaker 1:Take on the neuroticism. I'm hopefully I'm not saying that right yeah, take on that. And you know how that, how the balance of that, could really connect with self-sabotage, and so that brings a whole new insight to kind of how how we approach things are kind of like our own awareness. So that is good and I'm sure your dissertation was amazing. I love it. I love that. Yes, thank you. My next question is the concept of the happy file from your book can be used by artists to boost their self-esteem and motivation. Before I go into the book, could you, could you give me the title of the name of your book?
Speaker 2:Sure, it's called Rise Up of the Script, confronting Self-Doubt and Mastering Self-Sabotage for Performing Artists.
Speaker 1:OK, awesome. And where can people get that book from?
Speaker 2:So you can get it off Amazon and I have an example in all the performance paperback, ebook and audiobook. So it's on Audible and Spotify for audiobooks.
Speaker 1:Awesome, I'll make sure I have that in the podcast description. But tell me a little bit about the happy Five from your book.
Speaker 2:Sure, well, the Happy Five is sort of a variation of the Gratitude Journal. So you know, as an artist, what you might do is take all of your past successes and all of your past victories or any type of feedback that you've gotten, any compliments you've documented in like a journal and then when there's moments of doubt creeping in which happens you know for everybody pull out your happy file and then that will sort of give you that reminder that you need.
Speaker 1:Yes, I love that. I love that. I love the happy foul because, like you said, when you're in those moments of doubt darkness defeat failure, because we all experienced those at one time in our lives the voice of that could be so powering that you forget the accomplishments that you made, the compliments that you've gotten, your wins in life, accomplishments that you made, the compliments that you've gotten your wins in life. And I love the fact that that's just a reminder of, like, who you are and what you've done. You know, and that this one experience is not going to take you down. I love it and I love the fact that people can have a reference point to go back, just to reflect and just to really really take that in. And so I appreciate that I do not have a happy file, but I'm sure, after this conversation, I'm going to create one, you know.
Speaker 2:It's a good way to just remember, you know and remind yourself, because, especially when those moments of self-doubt creep in, especially as a viewer actor, if there's been months of nothing happening, or, for Christ's sake, as work is concerned, it's a good idea to just, okay, pull out that file and let's remember why you're connected here yes, yes, I love that.
Speaker 1:I have a two more questions and then we'll kind of wrap up and close. Um, I, I know, in terms of actors or actresses or people who have to present public facing, I think now in the world that we're in of social media, you just see so much going on. Things are changing, people are up in the ante, even myself to be like, oh, my goodness, I'm behind, I'm not doing all this, or I maybe you know I'm not presenting well, or they got all these flashing lights and bells and whistles and I. Something that comes to me sometimes is that there's something to be said for our, our, our authentic selves. You know, have all that in comparison. What could actors and actresses do, who kind of get caught up in all these other lanes that other people are in and they kind of forget what they have to bring to the table? Like how do they stay grounded in that?
Speaker 2:well, I mean the. The interesting thing is, like you know, social media is a paradox sometimes, and this is what I mean by paradoxes. It was initially designed to bring us together but it's more of an isolation. You know sometimes, and very often, what happens when we start scrolling on social media, or what some people might call doom scrolling it's there's a dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter about that feel good, neurotransmitters activated. That addictive dopamine kit is attractive, but very rarely do people scroll for two hours on social media and feel good about it afterwards, because all you're seeing all these people sometimes being presenting information that appears that they're more successful than you are.
Speaker 2:But then you start doing a social comparison trap, which is why are they doing it and what am I doing that? And especially with actors, because a lot of times they'll, they'll be, you know, looking at the scrolling on social media and they'll email us and say you know, my friends are doing so much better. Why am I not working? Yes, and there's so many factors. You know, sometimes I really have to tell someone, you know, take, you know, put your phone down, your phone away and just don't look at that for a while. So again, it's kind of like, on one hand, yes, it's definitely valuable, but at the same time, we've got to modify the use of social media.
Speaker 1:Yes, I love the fact that you said social media was created to bring us all together, but it's it could get us caught up in isolation traps, and I think you know what you're saying is that sometimes you got to put that phone down or you got to just take a break or respite from social media to just kind of get grounded and be reflective and get back to where why you were created to be the artist, why you're created to be the actors or actress, whatever that is.
Speaker 1:Take a step away for a moment just for, I think, for our own mental health and balance. So I love the fact that you said that and the fact that all of us can get caught up in doom scrolling. It's very addictive and, like you said, the dopamine what it does and to give us a deeper insight as to the why. Then I think we can understand it more. So I appreciate that that gives us more insight. My other question is how do you differentiate between toxic high self-esteem and healthy self-esteem and why this distinction is important with artists? What, what, what's the difference?
Speaker 2:yes, sure, well, normal, I would say. The biggest difference between normal, toxic self-esteem is humility. Yeah and being humble, the ability to be humble yeah, that's the biggest part of it, too, is being able to connect with other people, but also knowing that you're not we're not better than everybody else. We're, but we also deserve to see the table and we deserve to be celebrated. And there's nothing wrong with saying you're afraid. You know singing your praises, or to even you know congratulate yourself on things yeah however.
Speaker 2:However, it becomes a problem when we start thinking we're better than other people, mmm, and actually, you know, it's kind of even like with the double scheme is almost another paradox too, because most of the time, these people are very fragile, so when you try to offer them constructive feedback, they'll get very defensive.
Speaker 1:Yes, because on some aspect they may also be dealing with kind of like at the same time, low self-esteem yes, yeah, I love the paradox like you can have toxic high self-esteem but really on that flip side is low self-esteem and the fragility of low self-esteem.
Speaker 1:Yes, and the fact that if you give constructive feedback, you know it be very active and much, much more deeper than you anticipated, and so I could definitely have. I've witnessed that, I've seen that and I think you know in my own personal journey. You know because I always say I always try to figure out my why, and it's not about me, it's about the other people. Why am I here? Who am I here to serve?
Speaker 1:Who am I here to entertain who am I here? To bring a happy experience to, which I think a lot of actors and actresses do, and then people in general in life, and just having that sense of humility, I think goes extremely far, and humility is such a strength that is that we all can benefit from. You know, it's not a sign of weakness, it's definitely a sign of strength and it's people love that, I feel like, because it gives a sense of genuine connection and it really really helps me draw people to you. Yeah, yep, and your gifts and talents. As we close out, I have one last question. As you raise techniques to raise in healthy self-esteem, could you share a couple of techniques that someone that you've worked with that's worked for them and they applied it and it was successful for them?
Speaker 2:Sure, well, there's a couple of things. Number one I would tell you is to watch a company you keep and the energy you know, the energy you give certain people yeah, so you only want to. You know one of the things I often say if you want to be around people that will celebrate you, not tolerate you that's right you know people that will lift you up and will hold you even accountable, yeah, so the crowd is the biggest thing a social circle if you're around people that will lift you up and will hold you even accountable.
Speaker 2:So the crowd is the biggest thing, a social circle. If you're around people that are negative, it's going to rub off on you and now you're going to be negative too and therefore you know bitter and all that. So we need to be with people that are going to lift us up, that are going to elevate us. The other thing to do is step outside your comfort zone, do new things differently, and even visualizing or meditating on things is important too. Yes, your success and all that. Just visualize. If you have important meetings, uh, events coming up, auditions, interviews, just visualize it going well in your mind, because the brain is not the difference between imagination and reality.
Speaker 1:Yes, awesome, I love that. Watch the company that you keep, and meditation and visualization can go extremely far. Yes, and I think our mind is a very powerful tool that we have and, as you know, one of the most powerful, yes, being a doctor. You know that. And then you know, and we're not using all that we have there, there's so much more that we could use. So, dr Bramante, as you continue to do the work that you do and connect with people, what, what keeps you going? That's my closing question. What keeps you going? What keeps you getting up every day to make these connections and do the work and empower others?
Speaker 2:I think what gets me up every day is to be able to connect people and help people. I'm able to start the process of helping the dreams come true, in a sense and connecting people to their ideal job, and that's really what's exciting to me Awesome, I love that. I love that.
Speaker 1:Connect, connecting people to their ideal job, and that's really what's exciting to me Awesome. I love that. I love that Connecting people to their dreams, helping their dreams come true, that is so powerful, and people are out there with dreams that need to be, you know, pulled up from the ground and really truly manifested, and having a person come along and help them along on that journey is quite important. Dr Bramante, if people want to get in touch with you, purchase your book or find out more information about some of the work you do as an NLP I hope I'm saying an NLP practitioner and hypnosis and some other things, where can they connect with you at?
Speaker 2:Well, you can go to my socials, but also my website, albertbramantecom. I would really encourage you to check that out because, especially if you're interested in what hypnosis can do, there's ways you can buy these. You know recordings that will give you a 15 to 17 minute test of what it's like, and you listen to those on like a daily basis for like 30 minutes. You know like well 15 minutes, but you listen to them on a daily basis for like 30 days and you can listen. Well, 15 minutes, but you listen to them on a daily basis for only 30 days and you can listen to them. You know when you're. When you're, you know just cleaning the house and doing a whole host of Awesome.
Speaker 1:Thank you Well, Dr Bramante. I totally appreciate this time and experience that we had today. I'm sure my listeners will benefit from it, those who are in the field of entertainment and production and producing and showing the word, the gifts and talents. I believe that this is just something that can help them along the way. It has been my pleasure, Thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me again, nicole, you're welcome.