Pretty much everyone I know suffers or has suffered from feeling like an imposter. Like, who are you to think that you can do awesome, amazing, life-changing things or go for that job or travel to that place or help other people?
Ugh, sadly the list can go on and on. Sound familiar?
Our brains and egos are so good at helping us hold ourselves back. They want to protect us from getting hurt, so they convince us that we’re not worthy to try new or scary or exciting things because they might not work out. But what if they will work out but we’ll never know that because we never try?
This is something I’ve had to learn and relearn a few times, and I’m sure it’ll keep popping up for me at least in the near future.
You are not an imposter for wanting to do what you want to do in life. You are not an imposter for wanting more than what you currently do. You are not an imposter for wanting to break the cycle of doing the same things and going to the same places.
You are not an imposter.
Now say it with me: “I am not an imposter. I deserve to have the things that I want and will fight for in life. It doesn’t matter how many other people might have the same dream as me. I’m the only one who can do it my way, and I deserve to at least try to go for it.”
Doesn’t that sound better than just a flat-out no or an endless list of why you’re not qualified or good enough or pretty enough, etc.? YES.
So which of those paragraphs are you going to trust? I hope the first one.
That, or something similar, is something I’ve said to myself many times in pep talks in my head and/or in my journal. Feeling deserving of something more is something I’ve really struggled with in the past, and the concept of “deserving” is still tough for me but I’m working on it.
You don’t deserve to feel like a shitty imposter every day. You just don’t. I may not know you or everything about your story, but I know that and I believe it and I feel it deep in my soul.
So do the thing you want to do. Go after that dream you really want. Buy that thing that will help elevate you to the next level. Take that class. Call that person back. Tell someone when they inspire you. This time, the list goes on but in a much more positive way!
So I’ll say it again: you are not an imposter. Now we just need you to believe it’s true.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
