I am beginning to think that almost everyone has a little "imposter syndrome."
This is the definition that I found on the trusty inter-webs,
"Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. ‘Imposters’ suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence." (hbr.org)
Perhaps I am pathologizing something that is completely ubiquitous --and therefore not a pathology, just a fact of life. However, some facts of life still need to be dealt with, don't they?
I have read that you get past it by focusing on the work and the good it will do. The way to do that is to remove the "I" from the work. The work needs to be done, if you think, "why should I be the one..." then you've already let your focus shift away from the work.
I'll leave you with this quote from Ryan Holiday's Ego is the Enemy -- it may just
make this whole inquiry more useful,
“Why do you think that great leaders and thinkers throughout history have 'gone out into the wilderness' and come back with inspiration, with a plan, with an experience that puts them on a course that changes the world? It’s because in doing so they found perspective, they understood the larger picture in a way that wasn’t possible in the bustle of everyday life. Silencing the noise around them, they could finally hear the quiet voice they needed to listen to. Creativity”
― Ryan Holiday, The Ego Is the Enemy
*Daniella Bozzone is a writer, illustrator, and private investor.
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