I’m an Impostor and so are you
What is Impostor Syndrome?
Impostor syndrome is the fear that where you are right now in your career is not enough, and as you present yourself as an expert, because of your knowledge that you don’t know everything, you’re afraid of being ‘found out’.
Someone further than you will tell everyone of how inept you are and you don’t deserve the recognition that you are enjoying today.
The irony of this is that because you know that you don’t know everything, the fear of being outted gets more real, because you know that your area of expertise is a field so vast,that it can get terrifying to produce work.
Why do I feel Impostor Syndrome/
I have been a practicing designer for 13 years now, but my skills have atrophied. I know this now. I’ve seen this happen to me because now I’m designing less and managing people more.
Design will always be an integral part of my life. Design is my first love. This is where my heart really is.
But being involved in the family business, took me away fro what I love to do the most.
The sad part is I am not able to practice and read more about design, some might say that’s a good thing because at least this way, I don’t get influenced by trends and my ideas become more original.
But being siloed out, I also feel that I am not part of the bigger design community.
I’m guessing this is the reason why I feel so out of touch, because I am.
Not knowing what’s going on in the world and not updating my knowledge, I feel that I’m not improving. There are no newq ideas coming in.
If you feel you are not part of the bigger conversation, it can feel that you’re just making stufff up.
Don’t worry though because, not everyone has it all figured out.
We are just making stuff up as we go along, and that’s the beauty of it. And it’s OK.
How do you overcome impostor syndrome?
- Accept that you don’t know everything. Learning about anything is a process. There is just too much knowledge out there for you to cram into your brain. There are thousands of great designers in front of you who still don’t have the full grasp of everything there is to know.
It’s ok.
You are all in this together. You can learn from each other. Your experience and your thoughts are relevant and integral to the conversation.
The moment you accept that you do not know everything, the better you are for it. You become more open to new things.
The irony of this strategy is that the sooner you accept that you don’t know everything, the more you will tend to learn.
People respect other people who admit that they don’t know everything.
Ask questions, reach out to your peers.
2. Get yourself involved in the conversation. Start a blog, publish your thoughts. It’s fine. Everything that needs to be said, has been said. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to come up with better ideas right now.
The Mona Lisa wasn’t Leonardo da Vinci’s first painting, and even if it is regarded as a masterpiece, I’m sure that he would have said otherwise. In fact the so-called masterpiece is not yet even finished.
Writing about a certain topic opens you up to the things that you don’t know and that’s good because when you do realize that you know nothing about it, you’re going to want to learn more about it.
3. Don’t compare your journey to another persons’. We are all different. We are all in different stages of our lives, some might be starting out so they will know less than you, whilst others, maybe doing this for 50 years, so obviously, they will know more than you do.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
Others maybe blessed with a mentor who taught them. Whilst others, could have just been born with it.
You may just be in the middle of your journey so why are you trying to be someone you’re not? You’re where you are and you’re progress is your progress. You know what you know.
- As long as you keep on chugging and doing what you’re doing, you’re going to be fine.
- Focus on improving your skills, and gaining knowledge. Focus on yourself and making yourself better. Measure on progress not comparison.
You can never really eliminate impostor syndrome, It’s a fear that most professionals carry around with them.
But just like writer’s block. It’s a crutch that you use as an excuse, not to move and not to create, to validate your inaction.
The world deserves to hear your ideas.
Your voice matters, no matter where you are in the expert spectrum.
