LET’S GROW

In my career, I have had a lot of success. I have been creating content for over 17 years now and built audiences in the millions. Regardless of what the numbers say, I fight the feeling daily that I don’t deserve the success I have. When people praise me, I struggle to accept their kind words. When I achieve an accolade, I don’t celebrate it; instead I immediately get back to work.

If any of this sounds like you…CONGRATS you have impostor syndrome.

 Imposter syndrome is defined as self doubt of intellect, skills, or accomplishments from high achieving individuals.

Part of this is actually positive. The impostor syndrome drives people to become more successful. The issue is you never get to enjoy any of the success you earn. I don’t know about you, but I would love to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Otherwise….what am I doing?

Here are some common imposter syndrome thoughts and reframes to help you through it. 

🧠 Thought - I don’t deserve to be here.

🤯 Reframe - It takes skill to do what I do. I would not be where I am without possessing the skills I have. 

🧠 Thought - I didn’t earn this, I was just lucky.

🤯 Reframe - It was all the work I have done up to this point that put me in the position to receive this “luck”.

🧠 Thought - I’m not the good person people think I am.

🤯 Reframe - People who are unkind don’t question how good they are. We all mess up, but that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve praise.

These practices will take time, so please be patient with yourself.

What are some other things we can do to combat impostor syndrome?

Speak openly about our doubts with trusted people.

I learned the term “pluralistic ignorance”, which means we doubt ourselves privately, assuming we are alone in those doubts. We can create a supportive place within our lives by being open.

Celebrate even the small successes

If we allow ourselves a moment of joy, that positive reinforcement will enrich our lives and that happiness will pour into everything else.

Focus less on external validation of your successes 

If our well being is dependent on praise from others, that is very unstable ground. Ask yourself - “what did I accomplish in the pursuit of this achievement?” This develops a personal pride in what you do.

These practices are not easy…trust me I fail often. The fact that any of you are here, reading this, means you are taking the steps to love yourself and grow. Personal growth is DIFFICULT but worth it. Never forget that you are a masterpiece and you are worthy. Thanks for listening friends.

LET’S DISCUSS

Here are some of the the responses from Patreon supporters on Discord. Join us!

Having a logical/kind conversation with yourself can snap you out of the emotional reaction.

BE AN ODD BALL!

Talk to trusted folks for outside perspective!

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ON PERSONAL NOTE

I did a whole newsletter on impostor syndrome and I need to take my own advice haha.

In the new year I will be adding a subscriber only section to this newsletter. All the sections that are currently here will remain here. What will be available to subscribers will be actual community interaction. Here is what will be featured:

1. Monthly zoom meetings discussing the subjects from the month 

2. Ability to submit your specific subjects to be addressed in the newsletter

3. Comment sections

4. More ideas to come!

This is the next level for this community, so we can actually interact and grow together. Thank you for being on this journey with me and all the wonderful messages you have sent.

LET’S CONNECT

There are a few places for you to connect outside of the newsletter!

1. Discord - A place to chat, share, and grow with community members including movie nights every Monday!

2. Instagram - A place to reach out to me personally and get updates more frequently than the newsletter.

3. Patreon - A place to support the content you receive both weekly and daily. Get access to perks like hand written thank you cards, 1:1 video chats, an exclusive podcast, and more!