So yesterday I watched a video by my favourite vlogger @adetorrent. He was one of the first people I followed religiously. I met Ade here on steem hive two years ago and he inspired me to start vlogging.
I consider Ade a mentor of some sort. The quality of his work (both video and photography) is something I have always wanted to replicate (but failed). I love his posture in front of the camera. That is something I haven't perfected myself.
So you would understand my shock when I listened to him question his competence and creativity. However, when he told me I was one of the best writers on the blockchain I did not believe it. Just like him, I don't think my content is good enough.
I feel like a fraud most times. I attribute most of my success to chance and I am constantly fighting this fear that I will be exposed one day. Why should anyone upvote my content? I am just sharing my opinion--everyone has one.
This feeling of incompetence is the reason why I am constantly pushing myself, hoping to compensate for the lie that I think I am. Maybe if they see the effort they would disregard my flaws as a writer (should I even wear the tag 'writer'?)
This feeling of incompetence is what psychologists call imposter syndrome. Most of the competent people suffer from this feeling of inadequacy and this stems from the overvaluation of other people's ability when compared to ours.
Most competent people who suffer from imposter syndrome tend to turn down opportunities because they fear that their lies would be discovered. This can significantly mitigate growth.
I remember getting a writing job offer two months ago. At first, I was hesitant about taking the job. I felt I wasn't good enough. I had no prior experience. The only thing I have been able to manage is a small blog that I have been fortunate enough to earn from.
It has been two months into the job and I haven't had any issues with my colleagues or employers. I won't say I have written the best articles for my firm but they appreciate my work and input.
The feeling of being a fraud never truly goes away. I have learnt to live through it and provide myself with positive reinforcement whenever self-doubt tries to cripple me.
My intent with this post is to expose the lies we often tell ourselves. As with most things in life, it all boils down to narratives--what we tell ourselves. I think, if we begin to see ourselves as more competent we would take on more healthy challenges and live a fuller life. Cheers!
You have potential, your english is good, your explain well your ideas, you engage with people, etc, etc.
I know the imposter sindrome, I know a lot about that, not everything that has to be know, but yet...
I know that it's not easy to overcome that, and it's not easy to overcome it alone.
If you can't overcome it alone, maybe it is better to seek help, maybe professional help.
I'm not saying that this will change everything fast, no one can change this for you, only you, and it will not be fast, or easy, not if you want strong and permanent change, but I think that you have the potential for that to. I hope you can overcome this, and reach high levels.
thank you very much for your comment. i do a little self-therapy once in a while through write and other times introspection. like most therapist would say, the first step to recovery is knowing that there is a problem...
This week as I watch the war on Hive, I feel like a fraud too
It made me begin to think about the kind of post or writings that should be considered qualified for upvotes and trends on the platform
There, the feeling of incompetence crawls in, and it has made me not want to write anything until I can figure what the right writing is
But will that solve this fraud-feeling of mine too?
Of course, not, I will still be measuring my writings with that of others, and continue to feel I do not deserve my rewards
So, like you, we are all learning to live through it, and probably try to sniff negative narrative out
one of the potent ways to handle the imposter syndrome is by sharing because we mostly ascribe qualities to people that are far beyond ours. so when we share our experience with others and get similar feedback we tend to narrow our outlook. Thanks for stopping by.
one of the potent ways to handle the imposter syndrome is by sharing because we mostly ascribe qualities to people that are far beyond ours. so when we share our experience with others and get similar feedback we tend to narrow our outlook. Thanks for stopping by.
This post resonates so much with what I used to think about myself and probably even till today. Every time I hit the post button , I get this regret feeling that I could've written the post in a slightly better way . And this cycle just never ends. Over time I have realized that some of my best writings are the ones written without keeping the audience in the mind.
All through my journey as a writer, I have learnt that honesty is key. when we are most honest with our emotions and narratives we uncover a part of ourselves that make us proud.
I am glad this post resonates with you. Thanks for reading
Only people with great potential understand and noticed when someone has a great quality in him or Her, Ade sees the potentials in you.
fair enough...thanks for the comment.
Hi @nonsowrites, your post has been upvoted by @bdcommunity courtesy of @rehan12!
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