Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Imposter Syndrome is something many of us face:

It is when we doubt our skills and talents and have an underlying fear of being exposed as a fake.

I remember when I taught my first lesson as a Teaching Assistant to a class of first year composition students.

I remember planning the lesson for hours to ensure everything was as close to perfect as possible.

Despite how much time I spent planning and creating the lesson, when it actually came time to teach it to the class, the familiar internal voice of self-doubt crept into my head.

“You’re not a teacher. What are you doing?”

“The students are going to see right through your act.”

“You’re not capable of teaching new students!”

To make matters worse, the morning I was suppose to teach, I spilled coffee on my shirt.

Fortunately, it was a black shirt, but it still got my heart going.

As I walked to the classroom, my thoughts were racing about all the things that could go wrong.

It felt like a long, bleak walk.

Finally though I got to the classroom, and after a brief pause, I opened the door.

And what happened?

I CRUSHED the lesson!

It went so well that all my thoughts and doubts about being a teacher evaporated!

I realized in that moment the solution to Imposter Syndrome,

And it’s so unbelievably simple!

The solution to Imposter Syndrome is simply to JUST DO IT!

Just do the thing you feel like an impostor doing!

By just doing it, you will experience two things:

You will begin to realize you do have the skills and talent required for whatever it is.

Other people will give you feedback on your abilities which will in turn reinforce your belief in yourself

After I finished my lesson, I both felt confident and capable of teaching and received a lot of positive feedback from the students, which in turn helped me feel even more capable of teaching.

Imposter Syndrome is a common issue with many these days to be sure, but by just doing whatever you feel an imposter doing, you’ll be able to overcome any fears and doubts you might have had!

-Ryan, Persona Coach

Comments

Look Good, Feel Great!

Look Good, Feel Great!: Looking good is a huge part of style, and it’s the most obvious part, in my opinion. Most of the time, people start dressing-up because they want to convey a message to those around them. But there’s a second, much more important aspect of style and personal image. That being how style makes a person FEEL When you look good, you feel great! And even more than that, your feelings will radiate out onto other people who will be drawn to you. Style to me has always been about feeling my best; in fact, style was a significant part of me overcoming my body image issues. I was never really one to seek compliments or enjoy flattery– even though that stuff obviously comes with looking your best– rather what mattered to me was how style literally changed the way I felt. I remember putting on my first suit and feeling the most empowered I have ever felt. Not only that, but I noticed pretty quickly how everywhere I went I was treated differently. People started ...

Art can be incredibly motivating and being around art can have an immensely empowering effect on us. It’s a similar effect to one experienced while being surrounded by religious relics or statues– art can make us feel invigorated and influenced by something greater than ourselves. It’s almost like experiencing what John Keats called the Sublime in a more easily accessible way. According to Romanticist writers like Keats, the Sublime is defined as a meeting of the subjective-internal and objective-external, and is the strongest emotion we as Humans can experience. It typically requires us to put ourselves in awe-inspiring situations like seeing the sunrise from the peak of a mountain or looking up at a statue that towers over us. Instead of climbing a mountain or finding a huge statue though, with art we only need to go to a museum or into our living room, if we’re collectors. There are many different types of art and genres, all of which can have a powerful effe...

Quick Start Guide to Developing Self-Discipline

Quick Start Guide to Developing Self-Discipline Step 1- Know EXACTLY What You Want Step 2- Believe You Can Do It Step 3- Do It and Keep Doing It ------ Purpose of Guide: The purpose of this guide is twofold. First off, it is meant to simply convey to you the necessary requirements for instilling s elf-discipline into your life. The steps will be succinct, but the reason for that has to do with this guide’s second purpose. It will also serve as a tool to pinpoint where exactly you’re struggling in the process. This will allow me to better help you understand what you need to establish unwavering self-discipline. More than that, it will be an indicator to let you know where you personally need to start . For example, many of us have a goal that we’re working towards, but perhaps that goal isn’t spec ific. Well, that’s an issue—we can start working there. But let’s say the g...

Your Top-Notch Persona

Search This Blog