If you\u2019re any kind of professional, you probably know the symptoms well\u2026 a sinking feeling that you\u2019re going to be found out as a fraud? That everyone will realize you\u2019re a big fat phony and they\u2019ll laugh and scorn you out the door yelling things like<\/p>\n
Sound familiar? Chances are you\u2019ve been screaming these words at yourself for quite some time, and you\u2019ve probably become a bit desensitized to them in the process. Instead of hearing those words inside your head, you\u2019ve just accepted them as truth.<\/p>\n
Is this you? Here\u2019s the thing\u2026<\/p>\n
You are NOT an imposter. You\u2019re just realizing how much you don\u2019t know. And the more you know, the more you realize how much you DON\u2019T know.<\/p>\n
As we talked about imposter syndrome, we acknowledged how we both felt it constantly, and it was kind of hard to listen to over and over and over, and how maybe we really are<\/em> imposters?<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the thing – we\u2019re not.<\/p>\n My friend is highly educated – they have a doctorate degree! – but they also have street smarts. They\u2019ve been in their field for several years (though the doctorate degree is kind of new.) They\u2019ve worked with the same population for 15 years. Additionally, they\u2019re constantly asking questions to learn more and become the best they can be.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not an imposter.<\/strong> That\u2019s anything BUT an imposter. An imposter would lie and skip around and avoid hard topics. An imposter would find the shortcuts. An imposter would cheat.<\/p>\n But for my brilliant doctorate friend? Not even close to an imposter. They take the honest route in education. They\u2019re constantly trying to be better for their clientele.<\/p>\n As we continued to talk, the cure for imposter syndrome hit me.<\/p>\n (Yes, we\u2019ve got boxing references coming up!)<\/p>\n In boxing, when you\u2019re learning the basics, you learn two punches: the jab and the cross. One two, one two, one two. Left right, left right, left right. Jab cross, jab cross, jab cross.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re feeling like an imposter, take a moment to metaphorically look down at where you are in your journey. Did you get here by snapping your fingers? No. Did you get here accidentally? Maybe. Did you work your tail off? Most definitely. Did doors open at just the right time? Did closed doors redirect your path? Did you learn by trial and error?<\/p>\n Be grateful.<\/p>\n Be grateful for the experiences that have brought you to this point.<\/p>\n I got into digital marketing sort of by accident. Though when I look back I see how each \u201caccident\u201d was a carefully guided point on my path here. A copy of photoshop when I was 11. A rebrand of my brother when I was 12. Years and years watching my dad as a small business owner. A marketing degree. A technical savvy that encouraged people to ask if I could fix stuff. Saying yes when I had no idea if I could. A communication degree. Books and books and books about marketing and psychology and UX and design and leading and people and coaching and progress and storytelling\u2026.<\/p>\n All \u201caccidental\u201d. But also, all pieces of the puzzle that have made me really great at what I do. And not just great but capable.<\/p>\n NOT an imposter.<\/p>\n And I\u2019m so grateful for every single ingredient that has given me the unique skill set I have today. I\u2019m grateful. And I\u2019m not an imposter.<\/p>\n Take a moment right now and write down a few things you\u2019re grateful for that have led you where you are today. List as many \u201caccidental\u201d moments as you can, because when you\u2019re grateful for each of those \u201chappy little accidents\u201d you jab imposter syndrome over and over and over.<\/p>\n Humility is an interesting word. I think it gets a bad rap sometimes. It\u2019s seen as weakness.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t view humility that way. I view humility as the ability to listen and ask questions. It\u2019s an ability to acknowledge you DON\u2019T know everything, but you\u2019re ready to learn more. And more. And more.<\/p>\n Imposter syndrome shows up a lot when we\u2019re faced with a situation where we feel like we should know the answer. But we don\u2019t. And we feel like an idiot. And an imposter. But if instead we recognize those situations as growth opportunities we can be grateful for the opportunity and humble enough to recognize where our knowledge needs a boost.<\/p>\n What other ways do you overcome imposter syndrome (even if it\u2019s just for a moment?)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was in a deep discussion recently with a dear friend when the topic of imposter syndrome came bubbling up. If you\u2019re any kind of professional, you probably know the symptoms well\u2026 a sinking feeling that you\u2019re going to be found out as a fraud? That everyone will realize you\u2019re a big fat phony and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1080"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1080"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1084,"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1080\/revisions\/1084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fcpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Perfection is NOT the cure. In fact, perfection will aggravate the condition so deeply that it may become life threatening.<\/h3>\n
The cure to imposter syndrome is a one-two punch.<\/h2>\n
The cure to imposter syndrome – the basic principles that will wear it down until it can\u2019t fight back – is gratitude and humility.<\/h2>\n
Gratitude – The jab.<\/h3>\n
Humility – The cross.<\/h3>\n
Gratitude and humility. It\u2019s the one-two punch to knock out imposter syndrome.<\/h1>\n