Imposter syndrome is a royal butthead.

And you’ve probably experienced it before. So, what is it, exactly?

 

Imposter Syndrome sounds like…

“I’m not enough.”

“I’m not qualified.”

“I haven’t earned it yet.”

“I haven’t put in enough blood, sweat, tears, etc. to do X, Y, or Z.”

“It comes easily to me, therefore I’m not a real artist / entrepreneur / creative.”

“I’m not like so & so, therefore I can’t do X, Y, or Z.”

 

And, like a bully, imposter syndrome wrecks you with words like…

“She’s already doing it. Why bother?”

“You’ll only be adding to the noise.”

“What if the response is crickets?”

“What are you even thinking? Get back in your cave.”

 

It is, in a word, NASTY.

And it stops us from doing the things we’re meant to do.

So it’s time to flip the script.

I meet so many entrepreneurs who struggle with feelings of inadequacy, and it’s the biggest force stopping them from building the life they dream of.

The majority are strong, creative female business owners who are already doing the damn thing, but have no idea of their impact or talent. And because of that, they’re afraid to play bigger. Heck, they’re afraid to even declare who they already are!

Over the past year, I worked through a particularly nasty case of imposter syndrome. One that’s been plaguing me for nearly seven years. And it’s only because I worked through it that I’m even writing this blog post.

I have seriously struggled with becoming an educator, teacher, speaker & mentor.

These are all things I’ve dreamed of doing for nearly a decade, but I’ve never felt “ready” or qualified, even though I’ve got a few qualifying things under my belt: Starting multiple companies, building brands, building a team, taking big scary leaps, pivoting when %#!& hits the fan…yet I’ve still felt crippled by the one thing I’ve truly wanted to do all along.

On paper, I sound hella qualified. So, why has it been such a struggle to step into this new space?

It was time to dig deeper.

Together with my business coach, we dissected why it was such a challenge for me to move forward with this particular dream.

 

Here’s what we discovered:

• Limiting Belief No. 1: As a kid, I believed teachers were the end-all, be-all — the ultimate source of praise + validation. And it was my job to produce results that pleased the teachers. As the consummate 4.0 student, this paid off nicely. But for the first 20ish years of life, I was crazy hard on myself, and after graduating college, I struggled to see myself on the other side of the looking glass: as a teacher myself. There’s no way I could ever live up to the holier-than-thou status that teachers subconsciously held in my mind.

 

• How I chose to flip the script: This belief was so deeply rooted that I couldn’t spread my wings. Sometimes we hold these underlying beliefs that we don’t even know exist, and it’s only after digging around that we can see them clearly. And then we get to decide what to do with them. Instead of seeing teachers as holier-than-thou, I decided to start seeing teachers  as the imperfect humans they are: People who choose to show up + share what they’ve experienced & learned. They might be a little further down the path than I am, but they aren’t all-knowing; they’re flawed, and it’s through those flaws that they inspire. That tiny shift in perspective gave me the push I needed to finally take the leap!

 

 

• Limiting Belief No. 2: Online educators are slimy salespeople, and if I become an online educator, I will become a slimy saleswoman. 

 

• How I chose to flip the script: Say whaaat? That’s NOT who I am, nor how I would show up in that space! Instead, I believe that I can create highly valuable offerings, share them with the world, and the rest will follow.

 

 

• Limiting Belief No. 3: SO MANY people are already teaching & sharing about the topics I want to share about, so why would I add to the noise?

 

• How I chose to flip the script: Ooof, this one’s a doozy. I have to remind myself daily that my unique voice, experience, and presence will connect with & attract the right people, the ones who are going to get immense value from what I have to offer. And guess what? There isn’t anyone else out there with my unique combination of experience + insights (same goes for you!).

 

Do any of the above resonate with you? It might be time to try out some new, healthier beliefs!

Ask yourself:

• What limiting beliefs do I currently have that are holding me back?
• What new beliefs would I like to replace them with?
• What will it cost me to not move forward with my dreams & goals?

 

This isn’t an overnight fix, but a good ritual to practice every time those imposter feelings bubble up. Remember that imposter syndrome is common, but it’s not the voice you should be listening to.

 

Forever cheering you on,

Bailey