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Most of you will be familiar with X Factor, a British television music competition show which began in 2004 to find new singing talent, contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions.

The majority of the general public would argue that it is an amazing show because it provides an ideal, equal and fair opportunity for people from all walks of life and from different socio economic backgrounds to become a celebrity.

However, what’s often not discussed is that X Factor is one of the key pioneers of this progressively unhealthy celebrity, facebook, twitter, botox obsessed society we currently live in. Furthermore it’s generating an increasingly common epidemic “social comparison” that is sweeping the world, an extreme envious, keeping up with the Joneses and it’s causing burn out, anxiety, depression, addiction, low self esteem, envy, procrastination to name a few.

Dunning-Kruger

Another negative feature of X factor is a strange psychological phenomenon, “the Dunning Kruger (DK) effect”. Named after its founders, the DK effect argues that the more you know about a subject or idea the more you realise that there is to know and to understand.

In other words, as you are constantly aware of the gaps in your knowledge base, you continually strive to enhance it or beat yourself up for not knowing everything.

Contrarily, the less you know about a topic, the less you are aware of what there is to know about it.

So what’s this got to do with X Factor then?

A major consequence of DK is that, on many occasions, uninformed people will rate their ability noticeably higher and educated people will rate their own ability far lower.

Put simply, the educated expert thinks they only know as much as the layperson whilst the layperson believes they know as much as the expert. That’s why cocksure, overconfident contestants on X factor often deliver dreadful performances whilst the more self-conscious, humble contenders are usually more talented.

This you tube clip is a great example of X Factor people over rating their abilities:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1frDPh4-Imo

Over to You

If after reading this blog you realise that you need support to help you overcome low self esteem that may have emerged because you underestimate your abilities and are often crippled by procrastination,  perfectionism and feeling overwhelmed with distractions and negative thoughts you are not alone in this very common dilemma. So don’t panic or give up just yet.

On line coaching, counselling or a personal development or mindfulness course can help you. So, if you need a bit of extra support and encouragement and a few on line coaching or counselling sessions why not contact us at You Revolution to arrange an appointment with one of our highly skilled Therapists and Coaches for a short free introductory chat on 07950 751352 or by emailing us on info@www.you-revolution.com.

What’s more as it’s only 20 days until Christmas and you are probably more broke than usual needing to pay for Christmas presents and parties or for a ski or winter sun holiday, we are offering reduced counselling and coaching rates for a limited period only!!!

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