Do I even know what I’m talking about? Why should anyone listen to me? Who am I to give advice on time management when I never get anything done?

Imposter Syndrome is “a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success”. Basically…

Imposter Syndrome makes us feel like we’re not good enough.

As someone who’s been making podcasts, videos, and blogs for the last two years: I experience imposter syndrome a lot (I just never knew what it was or that it had a name).

What does imposter syndrome do to us? It can leave us feeling like we’re destined to fail. It can make us underestimate ourselves and it can negatively impact how we view our self worth.

Not to mention it’s also emotionally painful and can hold us back from doing amazing things.

Who experiences imposter syndrome? Imposter Syndrome is super common among professionals. Experts and creatives alike. Think of CEOs, politicians, entrepreneurs, artists and even online influencers. Anyone can feel this way.

But as I said in my last article, it can be extremely beneficial to realize that everyone has these thoughts sometimes. And you don’t need to feel bad for doubting or second guessing yourself sometimes.

However… if you a notice a pattern in yourself – excessively worrying that you’re not a good fit for what you’re doing – you might need to find a mindful outlet to help you reframe these thoughts.

I’m not a therapist, so I do advise that if you want more mental health geared advice to seek a professional. But as for my advice…

The way I like to start and face my imposter thought patterns are to remind myself of what an imposter is. An imposter is a person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others, especially for fraudulent gain.

Sidenote: I’m going to use myself as the example here. I’m a blogger, youtuber, podcaster, and recent Instagram positivity fanatic. I talk about psychology, self-development, music, health, reptiles, and books (for the most part).

Am I an imposter?

I work a full-time job and don’t have as much time to create as I’d like, but I try to do a little something everyday (try is key here, that doesn’t always happen). Somedays, especially in this pandemic, I don’t even get my workout in. Sometimes I feel like I’m not as put together as I appear online. A lot of the time I feel like I don’t listen to enough music, or read enough, or create nearly as much as I should for someone who posts the stuff I do.

Does this make me an imposter?

No. I’m not pretending to be someone else. Sure, I probably sound and act slightly different in different situations, but that’s pretty normal behavior (especially for an INFJ like myself). So I’m good there.

I am not trying to deceive anyone. Deceive anyone about what? I never claim to be perfect. I’m not pretending to be some kind of angel, I’m just doing things I enjoy.

Lastly, I’m not doing anything for gain. I don’t do this for money, likes, or followers (I don’t get much of those things and I still show up to do this stuff).

So why would I be an imposter?

The simple answer is: I’m not.

I’m not the imposter and you probably aren’t either. It’s easy for me sometimes to feel like I’m not good enough to talk about the things I do…

Who am I to talk about health when I do unhealthy things sometimes? How can I run a bookclub when I fall behind on my reading goals? Should I really talk about DIY art if I haven’t made anything new in a while?

But I just remind myself that everyone doubts themselves sometimes and everyone feels bad about their imperfections sometimes. That’s pretty fair. But what we can’t do is let these thoughts consume us or become the narratives that we tell ourselves.

Just like I said in my last blog post, we need to separate the fears from the facts and imposter syndrome is just a specific set of fears trying to hold us back from reaching our true potential.

We are all different. No one is more “special” than anyone else, no one is better for the job than you, and there are no qualifications for doing whatever the heck you want to do. Nobody is perfect and there is nothing wrong with being imperfect.

“Everything real is fake. Everything right is wrong. All you know is that you know nothing…” – Morty

Nothing is real anyways so do what you want. There. That is my end to imposter syndrome.

Let me know in the comments… if nothing was real, what would you be doing?

Until Next Time,

Stay Psyched