We Are Not Imposters

Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon or fraud syndrome) is a concept describing high-achieving individuals who are marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a "fraud".

Been There Done That

As somebody who only up until recently began to confidently look people in the eye and say "I'm a blogger", I know what it's like to live with the imposter syndrome. I know the feeling of being passionate about something and never considering yourself to have the potential of being one of the leaders in the field. The hesitation to claim a seat at the table is sneaky and deep-rooted and most of us don't consciously acknowledge the insistent denial of our abilities. I have to admit that throughout my life I have become an expert at playing down my ability to do a lot of things, but within the last 12 months it showed through in how I perceived my ability to write and use it as a means to truly connect with people. I wondered what it'd be like if an already active influencer enacted some approaches I created, but never once did I envision myself being the person to put my ideas into practice. I  thought "why would anyone be interested in me? Surely there are more qualified individuals that can relay this message". I looked around and hoped that simply surrounding myself with people who sort of thought like me would fill in the void of not fully committing to my aspirations.

Surely I could get away with not actually living out my dreams, but in the words of Donald Trump, I was WRONG.

The butterflies you get when you think about making a particular thing happen is not an illusion and you're not crazy for feeling it (I'm assuming that this "thing" is positive and beneficial to you and society). You're feeling that way because whatever that "thing" is is a true reflection of what makes your soul thrive. I'm here to tell you that you should stop ignoring the butterflies, stop thinking you're not competent, and stop preventing yourself from soaring. We are not imposters. We're actually the real deal, but we're working against our divine nature and getting in the way of our own happiness, so how will we ever know for sure?

How about we leave all of the self-doubts in 2016 and go after whatever TF it is we've always wanted? I mean have you seen the news lately? The world needs all the happy people it can get.

Let's be one of them.