IMPOSTER SYNDROME - raise your hand 🙋 if you've ever felt it or feel it?
Yeah, me too, I was right there with you. When I started my business, I would refer to it as 'you know the photography thing.' It took me almost two years and a business coach before I started claiming my identity as a photographer in business.
Learning how to overcome imposter syndrome takes time, but with the right daily practices, you can kick it in the ass.
We have all experienced imposter syndrome at one point or another in our lives. For many, imposter syndrome can be debilitating in the first few months or years of our new business.
Imposter syndrome, if not put in its place, keeps us playing small. Today I am sharing with you ways to overcome imposter syndrome so you can show up in this world as the person you are meant to be.
How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome
#1. Journal
For me, journaling has been pivotal in changing the way I think about my self and my life. When I first started journaling, I wrote stream of consciousness. As writing became more comfortable, I integrated affirmations circling around areas in my life, I felt most insecure.
Writing through my insecurities and fears took me out of victim mode by giving me perspective on what was actually real verse negative limiting beliefs. Imposter syndrome comes down is rooted in the limiting beliefe that we are unworthy or not enough. Taking up a daily journaling practice will help you disrupt these thought patterns giving ways for new beliefs to form.
Here are three journaling themes you can use to work through imposter syndrome.
~ Write I am statements/ affirmations - sometimes we have to start small, writing affirming statements disrupts the negative self-talk pattern.
Over time our subconscious mind begins to rewire for the better, and feelings of unworthiness begin to diminish.
I recommend writing 5-10 affirmations for areas in your life you feel you need the most work. Rewrite them every day until you feel you don't need to write them anymore.
~ Write about forgiveness - when we suffer from imposter syndrome, we almost always suffer from perfectionism or that not enough feeling. The judge and jury in our head, you know the one who is picking apart every wrong move you make can make life shear hell.
Forgiveness is the greatest healing gift we can give to ourselves. If you struggle with forgiving yourself, you can think of it this way -"would I treat a friend or family member the way I am treating myself?" 9 times out of 10, the answer is no.
Here's an example of a forgiveness you might need to give yourself,
"I lost my temper today and lashed out. I forgive you for losing patience today and lashing out. You are doing your best, and next time you will handle the situation better."
~ Set goals, small goals that align with your affirmations, forgiveness statements, or ones that push you out of your comfort zone will focus your energy in the right direction.
For example, if I struggle with patience when I get frustrated I could make my daily goal this,
"Today, I want to practice patience, when I feel myself getting frustrated, I am going to take a deep breath and ask myself why I am feeling that way? Most of the time, when I feel frustrated, it's because I feel misunderstood, so I will try to express myself more directly to feel heard."
When you first start journaling, you don't have to commit to all three themes at once, and you don't
have to write pages on pages. I started writing a page and a half a day. Some days I did all three some days I only focused on one. Trust your intuition and do whichever one calls to you most, BUT don't not do it at all. If you give in to the voice in your head that says you don't need to journal REMEMBER THIS - that's the you trying to keep you small, don't let it win.
#2. Read/ Listen to Audiobooks & Podcasts
Reading and listening to podcasts are monumental in getting you out of imposter syndrome land.
Not only will you find that 99.9% of the people you admire have felt the same things you are feeling, but you will also realize
"if they can do it, why can't I?"
Plus, most authors give you loads and loads of ideas on how to embrace all the goodness that is you. I started listening to audiobooks because, at the time, I was still teaching full-time and building my business.
Audiobooks allowed me the chance to multitask. You can do whatever works best for you, but I recommend trying to read/ listen to a book a month.
Some of my favorite books are:
You Are a Badass
The Four Agreements
The War of Art
Do the Work
Radical Self Acceptance
Law of Divine Compensation
The Charge
Everything is Figeroutable
The Marie Forleo Podcast
The Successful Mind
Goal Digger
Don't Keep Your Day Job
Lewis Howes: The School of Greatness
#3. Show Up as You Are & Love Your Self
Feeling like an imposter comes down to not feeling good enough or worthy. Everyone nowadays seems to be on the bandwagon of "selflove" and it's for a reason.
If more people experience self-love, there would be less hate and crime in the world. Stepping into you takes a lot of bravery, and to really get to where you want to go, you have got to know yourself and love yourself good and bad.
Perfectionism and fear of failure serves no one. Starting right now vow to yourself to show up as you are beauty, flaws and all.
Whatever it is you want to share with the world deserves to be shared, so be brave and show up!
