Alex Laughlin an audio producer at BuzzFeed News. Before that, she was a social media editor at The Washington Post. Outside 
of work, Alex is on the board of advisors for an upcoming narrative podcast on Asian American identity. Some of her highlights include making podcast for The Washington Post about mixed race identity, created Pay Up, a Slack community devoted to fostering conversation about the gender wage gap and wrote an article about podcasting that went viral.
Alex shares how a series of AHA moments in her life has helped believe in herself more and realized that she can anything she sets her mind to. Check her episode to listen to her story.
Bio
Alex Laughlin an audio producer at BuzzFeed News.
Cultural Background
Alex is of Korean and Caucasian descent.
Favorite Self Confidence Quote
Never make a decision motivated by fear.
Definition of Self Confidence
Self confidence is acknowledging your fear and vulnerabilities, and choosing to be the best version of yourself despite of and because of them.
Her Life Before the Discovery of Self Confidence
Alex has always been pretty shy and introverted. Growing up was especially tough because she would avoid challenges (like taking extra AP classes) because she was scared she couldn’t handle them. She never even gave herself a chance!
The “AHA” Moment
Alex has had a series of moments. One of them was when she got an A+ on a paper her junior year of college. She looked around and saw that no one else in the small class had grasped the concepts quite like she had, and she realized that she was more capable than she thought. Alex became much more confident in classes after that, and started speaking up more in class. Another moment was going on anxiety medication. She realized a lot of her fear of taking on challenges stemmed from generalized anxiety disorder, and once she started medicating and regularly going to therapy, she put herself out there more. More recently, she successfully transitioned from social media to audio production, which was her dream job. It was one of the hardest things she has done, and now that she’s done it, she feels like she can really do anything.
Her Life After the Discovery of Self Confidence
Alex is not confident 24/7, in fact she’s far from it. When she falters, it’s helpful to remember the successes she had and to give herself credit for them.
The One Self Confidence Tip For the Listener
Going back to her favorite “quote,” which is really more of a mantra — Try your hardest to never make big decisions based on fear of what will or won’t happen.
Interview Links
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