That Imposter Keeps Visiting...So What!

Liar liar pants on fire.

I'm an imposter. You're an imposter. We all are.

I can only speak for myself, but imposter syndrome is something I deal with constantly. Years of experience, solid results, positive feedback: none of it makes the feeling go away. The voice keeps promising it'll expose me soon. And soon never comes ;)

I've tried the TED talks, the books, the proven frameworks for defeating it. Eventually I stopped. Now I mostly ignore it. And I've found a way to make it work for me: it keeps me approaching new projects with a beginner's mind rather than walking in as the person who already has all the answers.

I know I can't predict what will hit. I know a new campaign won't succeed on the first try. So I focus on getting started, then getting better. It's the only move.

The other thing that helps: talking about it. Every time I mention feeling like an imposter, someone else immediately pipes up with their own version of the same story. Different industry, different role, same feeling.

Knowing you're not alone doesn't make the syndrome go away. But it makes it a lot easier to carry.