To,
Those Nagging Feelings,
The house of Self-doubt,
State – Sub-Conscious Mind
Sub: Dealing with the bouts of Imposter Syndrome and overcoming it.
Dear Imposter Syndrome,
Who are you?
You are in a psychological pattern of self-doubt. You make me believe that I am not as competent as others perceive me to be and make me doubt my creativity, skills, talent and accomplishments.
You create a nagging feeling in me that if people ever looked too closely; they’d realize that I have no idea what I am doing. I am just a “Fraud”.
What do you do?
Being a common phenomenon, you trigger feelings of severe inadequacy and self-doubt that can leave me fearing that they will be exposed as a “fraud”, usually in my work life. Moreover, you can affect anyone, regardless of your success. You have frightened the greatest minds like Albert Einstein to Maya Angelou and made them fall prey to a nagging feeling of fraudulence. The perfectionists to idealists, all are vulnerable to your bouts.
Why do I hate you?
The Imposter Syndrome, you are a threat to the entire creative community; especially to writers. Being rife in the writer’s community, you often make me believe that ‘I am a fraud pretending to be a writer’; because whenever I start writing something new, I feel that I can’t do it. All my previous works seem to be a lucky coincidence rather than the result of my immense hard work and creative thoughtfulness. Therefore, I hate you because you keep attacking my calibre and confidence with your unseen mind weapons of:
– Constant Self-Critique
– Over Researching
– Excessive Self-Editing
– Second Guessing
– Not Committing to Deadlines
– Re-writing again and again…
What’s your Antidote?
I understand that to overcome you (Imposter Syndrome), I must embrace self-doubt and acknowledge its pervasiveness. I found the following ways:
– Staying Positive –Staying positive is very important to combat Imposter Syndrome. It works like a miracle. Reading positive books, talking to positive people and recalling positive feedback about my previous works will certainly uplift my low-self esteem and eradicate self-doubt.
– Speaking about it – The problem starts when communication ends. Hence, talking to fellow writers and speaking about my doubts and fears will ostensibly help me get through those unwanted nagging feelings. When I open up to others, they may also open up to me and a possible solution to our common problems may start emerging.
– Never Stop Writing– If I stop writing, I allow Imposter Syndrome to win the battle. The more I refrain from writing, the deeper I immerse in self-doubt. I need to constantly ask to myself: “Can I let IS kill my confidence and creativity”? If my answer is no, then I will sit in front of the blank paper and start writing. What matters is that I have written something, even if it sucks.
– Being Myself – I have to keep reminding myself that I am a writer, not an imposter. If people have any unfair expectations of my work and me then it’s their problem. But if I have self-doubts in me when people admire and like my work then I need to overcome this Imposter Syndrome by changing my perspective towards being progressive and tracking my accomplishments.
Conclusion:
Imposter Syndrome happens to almost 70% of people and it’s not fatal unless I allow myself to drown in it. A little self-doubt is good too. It helps me learn and evolve but too much of it is undoubtedly destructive to my creative thinking and writing. So dear Imposter Syndrome, I must completely overcome you someday.
Yours Truly,
A Writer.
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