Ep. 55 Inner Critic Series: Networking Sucks
An episode of the The Unlock Lab podcast, hosted by Tosca DiMatteo, titled "Ep. 55 Inner Critic Series: Networking Sucks" was published on April 15, 2025 and runs 26 minutes.
April 15, 2025 ·26m · The Unlock Lab
Summary
This week’s episode is for anyone who’s ever felt that tug of war about whether or not to go to a networking thing. I’m talking about why it can feel so hard, even when we know it might actually help us. Whether you’re job hunting, prospecting for clients, or just thinking about saying yes to a social invite, the inner critic loves to chime in with stuff like, “You don’t belong,” “It’s gonna be draining,” or “You’ll feel like an outsider.” I share a few stories from my own life, ones that break down how past experiences shape the way we show up now. Episode Highlights:The inner critic narratives that shut us down before we even show up.How I relate to connection and how I’ve reframed those experiences.Simple practice to separate truth from inner critic noise, to show up more aligned and less transactional.Quotables:[00:06:02]"We have to really make space for possibility because our inner critic tells us things in such definitive terms, like it will be this. This is what exactly is gonna happen. And our inner critic can't predict the future. So we have to be very mindful when we hear things like absolutes in the messages that we're telling ourselves."[00:15:30]"Maybe the word 'Networking' itself is triggering to you. I know it definitely can be triggering to people, so maybe you might wanna consider what, maybe I need to reframe, what's the word I want to use instead of networking so that I'm not bringing the baggage of what that networking word means to me."[00:18:13]"Maybe your goal is to just go l, and just going is the success metric. Maybe it's, you know what? I just wanna meet one person that I vibe with while I'm there that may extend to a conversation outside of that event."Tosca’s Links and Resources:Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: https://toscadimatteo.com/optin/Tosca’s WebsiteGet in Touch with ToscaLinkedInInstagramGiving Flowers To:Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteoPodcast edited by: Landis Podcast Editing
Episode Description
This week’s episode is for anyone who’s ever felt that tug of war about whether or not to go to a networking thing. I’m talking about why it can feel so hard, even when we know it might actually help us. Whether you’re job hunting, prospecting for clients, or just thinking about saying yes to a social invite, the inner critic loves to chime in with stuff like, “You don’t belong,” “It’s gonna be draining,” or “You’ll feel like an outsider.” I share a few stories from my own life, ones that break down how past experiences shape the way we show up now.
Episode Highlights:
The inner critic narratives that shut us down before we even show up.
How I relate to connection and how I’ve reframed those experiences.
Simple practice to separate truth from inner critic noise, to show up more aligned and less transactional.
Quotables:
[00:06:02]
"We have to really make space for possibility because our inner critic tells us things in such definitive terms, like it will be this. This is what exactly is gonna happen. And our inner critic can't predict the future. So we have to be very mindful when we hear things like absolutes in the messages that we're telling ourselves."
[00:15:30]
"Maybe the word 'Networking' itself is triggering to you. I know it definitely can be triggering to people, so maybe you might wanna consider what, maybe I need to reframe, what's the word I want to use instead of networking so that I'm not bringing the baggage of what that networking word means to me."
[00:18:13]
"Maybe your goal is to just go l, and just going is the success metric. Maybe it's, you know what? I just wanna meet one person that I vibe with while I'm there that may extend to a conversation outside of that event."
Tosca’s Links and Resources:
Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: https://toscadimatteo.com/optin/
Giving Flowers To:
Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo
Podcast edited by: Landis Podcast Editing