How many times have you seen coffee flipped flop from being healthy to bad for you? One study shows 3 cups daily lead to a 21% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Another says more than two cups a day lowers your cognition and increases blood pressure. It raises cholesterol. But only when it's unfiltered. And based on how you grind it. This list of what's bad or good seem to get longer.

It's more like you're safe to consume coffee if you're a zebra who can fly. That 5-shot mocha latte is then just what the doctor ordered. Okay, I got dramatic.

I've been reading Adam Grant's new book "Think Again" about reconsidering your assumptions. Turns out there's a lot of bias in data. Not really a surprise given how we can manipulate it. Our bias also depends on whether we fear being wrong or welcome being wrong because we learn something. He advocates for the joy in being wrong and waxes poetically on the virtues of imposter syndrome.

When it comes to stepping out of your comfort zone at work, say through a giant promotion or big step up in your job, you might feel you have imposter syndrome. Has this ever been you? I know it was me the first time I was hired to manage a team after a career as an individual contributor. Suddenly I had to manage performance. And have hard conversations. Even though I'd read a number of management books by then, I hadn't practiced the art. I felt out of my depth. And I was!

You have doubt about how you can do what others hired you for because although you sold them, you haven't yet sold yourself.

In short, you might think of yourself as a fraud. An imposter. I know many leaders feel this way. Fake it 'til you make it is the mantra. Never let them see you sweat.

Exude confidence. Charisma. Chutzpah.

Yet it's only a matter of time before you're outed. You just know it.

Adam reveals that imposter syndrome helps you outperform those with innate confidence. As an imposter you actually work harder to prove you can do it. You over prepare and thus you rise above.

This was what Basima Tewfik of Wharton found in her research. She conducted a study of medical students nearing their rotations using actors. Those with more self doubt showed more empathy and listened better. Same with interview subjects. Those with more self doubt communicated more thoughtfully. And there was little to no difference in actual competence.

Why does this happen? Because when facing self doubt and driven to succeed, you're not complacent. You pay more attention to the details. You execute better.

The next time you face self doubt, consider embracing it as a gift. Make it work for you. Conversely, if you're feeling invincible, pause and consider what you might be blind to. You might miss the thing in plain sight that could thwart your success. Like drinking coffee, there's a balance between the two to find. Too much of either is never a good thing.

Adam covers a lot of ground in Think Again. You'll learn how to check your assumptions at the door. And change your thinking on thinking. Early in the book he talks about the curse of intelligence:

"In our daily lives, too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt. We listen to opinions that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard. We see disagreement as a threat to our egos, rather than an opportunity to learn.... The result is that our beliefs get brittle long before our bones. Intelligence is no cure, and it can even be a curse: there’s evidence that being good at thinking can make us worse at rethinking. The brighter we are, the blinder to our own limitations we can become."

Aren't we just the most fickle creatures?

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Upgrade your operating system

Since the future is digital, how about you too? Think about your personal operating system. What are the bugs? What are the features? Did you even know you have an operating system? While you can't just go to the App Store and upgrade to the latest version, you can intentionally upgrade yourself. Or unintentionally go the way of the floppy disk. Don't panic. That you're even here reading this suggests you're ahead of many. You're curious enough about designing your life to act.

When you think about your internal operating system, it pays to challenge old beliefs. Are they still relevant? Or maybe need a tune up? Such tune ups are akin to a physical workout. Your muscles strengthen with use.

Last weekend we went for a hike on Mt. Hood. It was 2.6 miles uphill and we could have gone another 5 miles uphill but were stopped by snow and turned around. It was a short 5 mile hike but the first of the season and my buttocks felt it. Even though I already walk 5 - 6 miles daily. Imagine if I hiked this every day how easy it would become! Which is the same thing I said the weekend I shoveled 4 tons of pea gravel and could hardly move afterward. Certainly, taking care of your physical operating system is key to a healthy mental operating system. Endorphins anyone?

To upgrade your mental operating system consider this self check-in courtesy of Jerry Colonna:

1. How am I doing? (No, really, how am I doing?)
2. What’s on my mind?
3. How am I feeling? Where in my body is that feeling more acutely felt?

Write it down. Do it weekly. Or daily.

Don't gloss over it because it looks simple. Don't just say 'fine.' Sit with it. Notice what shows up. Even more interesting is what shows up over time. That's the magic of writing it down and looking back.

Similarly, I've shared this before but think it's worth repeating. For the past three years I've done a weekly check-in shared with a group of four others. The questions have changed during that time and here's the current version:

1. What's on my mind?
2. And what else?
3. What's the real challenge here for me?
4. What do I want? (Ultimate goal / Micro goal)
5. How can I help?
6. If I say yes to this, what am I saying no to?
7. What was most useful for you?

From week to week, my answers to questions 4 and 6 remain fairly constant. I know what I ultimately want. The micro goal evolves week to week but is generally around doing the work to figure out the work I should be doing.

Most people don't invest 30 minutes a day to upgrade themselves. Or even 15. We get up and go without thinking. Which is why Adam's book drew me in.

You may not no where you're going, but the simple act of thinking about it just may surprise you with an answer.