IMPOSTER SYNDROME

You are not an imposter.

Imposter syndrome is the internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. If you have ever experienced self-doubt, chances are you have also encountered imposter syndrome, the voice in the back of your head doubting your abilities and telling you that you are a fraud. 

Imposter syndrome sounds like:

• "I have no idea what I am doing, who am I to teach a class?"

• “I have never done XYZ, who am I to promote myself and my work?”

• "Nobody is buying my products, why would anyone want what I made?"

• "I am not talented enough or smart enough or __________ enough to achieve my goals."

Almost every woman I know has struggled with imposter syndrome at some point in their life, mostly thanks to years of conditioning with a side of social media mixed in. Women have been taught to play small, to limit themselves, and to speak only when we are spoken to. Women have been taught to be good girls and to fit into tiny little boxes or more recently tiny little squares on the internet.

If you feel like, or have ever felt like, an imposter, it is only because life requires doing things that you have never done before. Chances are if you are stepping out of your comfort zone imposter syndrome will surface to scare you out of trying something new.

Reflection Questions

What is your life trying to tell you through your whispers?!