You are enough! If you struggle to believe this statement, you may be battling with imposter syndrome. This psychological pattern causes interference and distracts and distorts the perception of our realities, causing people to doubt their ability and accomplishments. Many high-achievers find that they attribute their wins to chance while downplaying their creative genius.
If this is you, challenge yourself to think beyond your normal justification for not executing or failing to complete required tasks directly connected to you achieving your goals. What’s the "why" behind not currently living up to your fullest potential? As you begin to recognize the root issue, you may begin to feel guilty or a sense of shame. Don’t! The majority of us have been here or are currently navigating this space. What will set you apart is to take action and invest in your betterment.
My own experience confronting imposter syndrome was related to me having an unclear perception of others’ realities. I used to have a perception that if a speaker was part of a particular group, I also needed to be there since I was a speaker. Contrary to some perspectives, I wasn’t trying to copy or replicate what they were doing. Rather, I was trying to emulate someone I looked up to and valued. For some time, that came at the cost of not recognizing my own value. I even questioned whether I was really making an impact in the lives of others because I was not consistently seeing the monetary return on my investments. I learned that there is no need to compete with others because there is no validity in comparison. We all have fundamental differentiators that set us apart from one another and that’s what allows us to make our unique imprint on the world.
If you implement these six steps, you will learn how to reduce your comparison to others and overcome this phenomenon.
1. Assess your inner circle.
Knowing that people rarely check on their “strong friend,” you may need to take initiative and invite people into your space to hold you accountable as you work toward achieving your goals. It’s imperative to have people in your corner who genuinely care about your well-being. These are people who know you well and love you without condition. They see your messiness, speak life into you, celebrate your wins with you (especially when your win doesn’t directly benefit them) and call you out when you are not in alignment with your purpose. Who in your circle knows the goals you are working toward? If you aren’t mutually supportive of each other and this is something you desire, have the conversation with them directly.
2. Unfriend/unfollow as you get into alignment.
You are not a hater. Social media is saturating our culture and there are many skewed societal images of success. It’s simple. Do you really know each other? Are you really friends? And are they really people you want to follow? Let’s genuinely celebrate those who are thriving. Figure out what works for you rather than trying to replicate each step someone else took.
3. You are qualified!
In his book Goals, Gary Blair mentions that “procrastination increases the distance between your current reality and desired reality and minimizes the changes of achievement. You will never achieve your goals simply by thinking and talking about them.” Stop procrastinating and take action — purposeful action, that is. I once read that taking action until you achieve your dreams is the cure for procrastination. If you haven’t achieved your dreams then you cannot afford to procrastinate. You have been distinctively set apart from everyone in this world. However, it is up to you to believe that you are worth the investment, that you are qualified and that you can achieve the goals for your life. Know that when you aren’t functioning at your highest frequency, you are not only robbing yourself, you are robbing other people of their opportunity to experience their breakthrough. This might seem heavy to bear. It is. You are part of someone else’s growth process. Maybe even their success story.
4. Create your own blueprint.
What worked for them may not work for you. What works for you may not work for the next person. What’s your strategy? If you don’t know what to do, do the last thing that worked well.
5. Leverage your resume.
It is essential that you learn to leverage your resume. Take a moment to bring up your current resume. Review the jobs you have had over the years. Pay close attention to the responsibilities and tasks that were assigned to those jobs. Now, take time to reflect on the lessons you learned from your experiences. Identify and pay attention to the unique skills sets, knowledge and expertise you bring to the table.
6. Simplify your process.
After you’ve implemented these five steps, you can see that you have what you need to achieve and create the life you want. Still, find a mentor, someone who has mastered what you desire to achieve, and connect with them. Be more intentional. It is more than requesting their help or asking them to mentor you. Figure out a way you can come into their space and help them complete their current projects. This is an opportunity to demonstrate and sharpen your skills and enhance your knowledge. Through this process, they will be teaching you what they know. Most people want to help you, so be clear and concise with your invitation to be mentored by them.
The real first step is to show up and be willing to invest in yourself.
