Silenzio Bruno! (How to actually do it in real life, though)
In the movie Luca, the main character, Luca, is scared to try new things. His friend Alberto, however, is very adventurous. In one scene, Alberto is trying to convince Luca to ride a bike down a big hill. He tells him to yell “Silenzio Bruno!” to the scared voice inside his head.
Later on in the film, Alberto is battling self-doubt, and is caught in a moment of abysmal self-esteem. Luca tells Alberto to “Silenzio Bruno!”
So is yelling a random Italian name really going to help us overcome the fear and doubt in our hearts? Probably not. But the concept has merit!
Here’s how to actually “Silenzio Bruno” in real life.
Step 1 - Understand what you’re up against
The things we’re afraid to do have a way of appearing more frightening than they actually are. Quitting your job, or launching a business, or sharing your art with the world can be pretty scary. But none of these things are life-threatening. Tim Ferriss has a great exercise that he calls “fear setting.” Fear setting (the opposite of goal setting) is when we define in very clear terms, everything that scares us about a particular endeavor. Once we write down everything we’re afraid of, it’s usually pretty clear that our minds have made a monster out of a mere shadow.
Step 2 - Understand that others have succeeded
The things you want to do have been done before. That’s how you know about them in the first place! And if what you want to do has been done before, then it means others have succeeded at this too. Now, ponder this: could it be possible that someone who is not as smart as you, and not as determined as you, and with fewer resources than you has also tried this and succeeded in the past? The chances are pretty good! So if someone in that position has succeeded before, you can too.
Step 3 - Give that voice a name
Once you understand your fears, and understand that others have conquered them too, it’s time to give the voice in your head a name. When I was in high school, my close friend’s mom was very adamant about my friend going to a famous college. I was less academically inclined, but sometimes when I hung out at my friend’s house, his mom would place her high expectations on me, too. Many years later, I realized that much of the self-doubt I felt about academics and learning were stemming from the things she had said to me all those years before, and the way she made me feel. Once I understood where these negative voices in my head were coming from, it was much easier to put them in their place. You might catch me yelling “Silenzio Julie!”
Step 4 - Take some time alone
It’s a great element in the movie for Luca to yell “Silenzio Bruno!” before he charges down a big hill. But it’s not realistic. It’s much more realistic to spend time alone in the morning, or in the evening, setting intention for the day and letting your mind warm up. When I started freelancing, I was terrible at this. I slept in until the minute I needed to start working, then I answered emails as I brushed my teeth and ate breakfast–I was a walking masterclass in stress. Once I started spending some time alone in the morning, with no work allowed, I was able to quiet my mental chatter, and warm my mind up to face my Brunos. When the fear came throughout the day, I was prepared to face it.
Step 5 - Try it and bring a notepad
Once you follow these steps to silence your Brunos, the only next step is to go for it. Whatever it is you’re afraid to do, do it. You might succeed, or you might not. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you faced your fears and you didn’t die. In fact, things were probably much simpler and easier than you imagined, with the people you were afraid of being much less interested than you feared. This is why you should bring a notepad. Write down what that experience was like in relation to how you feared it would go. It as probably a lot better! Writing things down in a notepad will only increase the evidence that you can face your fears, and give you more tools to…”Silenzio Bruno!”
Good luck out there.
P.S. If you think you’re alone in feeling like an imposter, you’re not. The director of this movie said this about the Bruno concept: "We find it very meta… I'm a first time director, so imposter syndrome was my Bruno while making it," Casarosa continues. "And so we thought, 'Oh yeah, that's kind of relatable,' and friends are those who know even better than your own voices what you can do. We kept on talking about Alberto as being the 'You can do this. You can,' as opposed to the voices that tell you 'You can't do it. What are you doing? You shouldn't be here.'“
