Have you ever felt like an impostor at work? Like you don’t deserve the job you were hired for, and your selection was some kind of fluke or mistake?
Maybe you’re not questioning your role completely, but a responsibility you were given.
You think to yourself: Who am I to have a say on this? I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m not good enough.
Despite your accomplishments, you feel like a fraud or a fake.
It could be you’re experiencing Impostor Syndrome. And if so, you’re not alone.
Just the other week, one of my newer team members was struggling with this. She’s a writer and was capable of writing on the topic at hand.
Yet, she felt stuck. She couldn’t get over the feeling that her writing wasn’t good enough and her insights weren’t worthy or important enough to be shared. Like who was she to be writing on this? And why would anyone want to read it?
While it’s impossible to remove self-doubt from our lives completely, there are ways we can manage it.
My advice for my new team member? While it might be true that someone else has the
same concept as you, no one has the same set of stories or experiences as you, and no one can tell it the way you can tell it.
My team member isn’t the only one I know to grapple with feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. I would be lying if I told you I haven’t struggled with those things too.
For my team member and others experiencing the Impostor Syndrome, I also recommend:
Creating a daily desires diary
Every day, write down three things you’re grateful for, three things you’re proud of, and three things you desire. Every time you write those down – especially the things you’re proud of – you’re planting a new seed in your subconscious mind that is going to help you connect to those things in your life and feel more self-confident. Try it for 45 days, and see what a difference it makes!
You can also refer to the list of things you’re proud of when you’re lacking confidence and need a lift.
Stop chasing 100% perfection
Like the adage goes: “No one is perfect, so stop trying to be.” My new team member – and I think many other creatives – get caught up believing that everything they put out into the world has to be perfect. Nothing is ever going to be perfect or 100% match the vision in your head. What I advised my team member to do was something I learned from my friend Lisa Sasevich at a sales conference, which was to get used to letting go and “moving forward with good enough.” In other words, get comfortable with putting something out there – imperfect but valuable – and improving as you go.
Was there a time when you felt like an impostor in your career? How did you get past that feeling? Tell me about it! I want to hear from you!