How to make imposter syndrome work in your favour - Turn self-sabotage into messaging strengths

Overcome imposter syndrome! Insights & tips to kill your doubt and stop self-sabotage to write copy and content with confidence

The words imposter syndrome carry so many negative connotations that it is hard to see anything positive associated with it.

But what if imposter syndrome wasn’t responsible for everything that holds you back?

What if imposter syndrome was an illusion? A make-believe construction that you, oh so conveniently, use to excuse yourself for procrastination?

The imposter syndrome’s first appearance

Wikipedia states that the term “impostor phenomenon” was introduced in 1978 in an article about high-achieving women. It further states that imposter syndrome is a reaction to particular stimuli and events. It is individual, not a mental disorder.

So, does this mean that imposter syndrome is just a reaction and a feeling that you generate yourself? That, with feeling what people feel when they say, they are suffering from imposter syndrome, they are making something up? That it’s not a medical condition?

And - what is it that they feel when they self-diagnose themselves with imposter syndrome?

The feelings that make you feel like an imposter

When people feel like an imposter, some say that they feel like they don’t belong. They feel like the odd one out, like they don’t fit in.

Maybe they feel that they haven’t earned their place, that they are not capable, don’t know enough.

They might believe that their success is luck, that they are not good enough, or that they are not worthy.

And when we look at the people who say that they suffer from imposter syndrome, we see (a lot more) women (than men) who lack internal acknowledgement of their achievements despite external validation.

We see the successful small business owner, coach, consultant, or career professional. We see the awards they’ve won, the business they’ve built, the content they have written which is impressive but not good enough or impressive enough to feel good about themselves.

When we look at these imposters, we see incredibly humble and sophisticated professionals who excel at their profession.

We see their growth and their successes that they sadly don’t acknowledge and celebrate.

We see their progress - but they see that they are not where they want to be.

What I see in my clients is that they tell themselves that they aren’t good at writing, that they have nothing interesting to say, that their story sucks, that it takes them too long to write, that they haven’t found their style or voice, that they can’t verbalise (or even know) how they are different from the competition.

And sure enough, the struggle with creating content or writing copy. Often, they copy someone else’s style and sign up for an AI programme that lets them create content faster and in a certain style. These programmes promise to write whole articles in minutes for them but then they are disappointed because it doesn’t sound like them.

The problem is never that they lack as a person. They only lack clarity and writing skills.

Both issues can be fixed! They are a skill like any other skill that can be learned (just ask me about it and I tell you how).

Where does this feeling of being an imposter come from? Knowing the roots of a problem is a good first step to fixing something.

So…

Where does imposter syndrome come from?

Let’s look at what’s happening when you suffer from imposter syndrome.

You compare yourself to others (and find yourself lacking) and you doubt yourself.

How to look at doubt and see it for what it is

You doubt your abilities (i.e. “I’m not good at writing, marketing, public speaking…”).

But when you look at your “deficits” you will see that these are all skills that can be learned or often outsourced.

How can you expect to market like Seth Godin, write like David Ogilvy, or have a stage appearance like Tony Robbins?

These people have spent decades of dedicated effort to get to where they are today. They don’t possess super-human strengths or were born as the professionals that they are now.

They worked hard for their level of mastery. They identified skills that they needed to learn and then dedicated time and effort to master these skills.

And here’s the thing – there is no need to doubt yourself!

You have the ability to figure things out and learn the skills that are essential for your progress.

Next time, you’re telling yourself that you are a bad writer, then ask yourself:

Do I have the mental capacity to learn how to be a good writer? Do I need this skill to be successful in my business? Am I disciplined and dedicated enough to learn this skill?

Writing, like public speaking, marketing, or coaching in your area of expertise are skills that can be learned.

Your doubt is just a signal that you possess a sense of humility that says that you’re not quite there and that you have found an area that you need to work on.

Everyone has doubts! You are no exception.

Another point that’s worth making is that you compare yourself with people who are far ahead of you in the journey.

Don’t compare yourself to people who are far ahead of you

You are comparing yourself to people who already have a big following, have a level of success that you are dreaming of, or have mastered skills that you still need to develop.

By comparing yourself to people who are far ahead of you in the journey, you lose and make yourself look small and lacking. You are jumping ahead in time too far and get intimidated by who they are today and not who they were when they were at your stage of their journey.

You are not comparing like for like. Comparing yourself to the wrong people or the wrong stage of successful people can create overwhelm, fear or set the wrong expectations.

And to add some spice to the mix – we are used to instant gratification. Everything has to happen so fast that we forget about the process. And we forget that the process is an amazing journey of many stages that we should acknowledge and celebrate.

There really is nothing wrong with you – you are just comparing yourself to the wrong person.

If you want to compare yourself, then compare yourself to people who are at a similar stage of your journey or slightly ahead. That helps you to feel better and see achievable steps ahead of you.

There’s nothing wrong with admiring wildly successful people. They are a good motivator of what you can achieve if you keep advancing consistently. But don’t beat yourself up about not being there yet.

Instead, think about it this way…

What can imposter syndrome do for you?

First of all, let me assure you: there’s nothing wrong with you – nothing that prevents you from being successful. You are certainly not suffering from a chronic illness.

Imposter syndrome is a sign for you to upskill and get better at something. To embark on a journey of learning and development to raise your skill levels.

It’s a sign for you to assess at what stage of the journey you currently are, honour your journey and confirm that you are in the right place considering the stage of your personal journey.

That allows you to acknowledge your progress and motivate yourself to keep going because you know what’s waiting for you at the end of the journey.

So, when you feel like an imposter, then look around you. Pay attention to what is happening in your environment and observe others who are at a similar stage.

You might find yourself with some amazing travel companions and form relationships that support you throughout your journey.

One of the best things that I have done in the last year was to form a couple of small masterminds with other small biz owners who are at a similar stage as I am.

That has been an amazing experience. We support and inspire each other every week. We hold each other accountable and discuss issues when we get stuck.

And we have become friends and formed a strong bond of companionship. That’s made it all worthwhile!

What to do when imposter syndrome strikes?

My conclusion – imposter syndrome is nothing that we need to fear, we just need to adjust our perspective, see our doubt for what it is and stop comparing ourselves to people who are far ahead of us.

Instead, we should surround ourselves with the right people. People who are at the same stage or slightly ahead – and leave our role models on their pedestal and allow them to motivate us.

Use them as an inspiration for a goal that you want to achieve. And then go back and create your strategy of how to get there – including the skills that you need to learn on the way.

Make a plan on how to upskill, track, acknowledge and celebrate every little success and progress so that you have a journey that you take with full awareness of what you are achieving every day.

And – if it so happens that you need more clarity, define your messages, and develop your writing skills – then send me a message.

Because there is no person who can’t write. That’s just a label that you have given yourself a little too eagerly.

You will see, once you know your messages, you’ll be eager to share them with the world!

Categories: Brand Messaging, Content Creation, Contentwriting, Copywriting, Mindset