How Creatives Become Fiercely Successful by Fighting the Imposter Syndrome
Recently, I joined a discussion on Clubhouse with other creatives to discuss the relentless feeling of self-doubt, or as some called it, the Imposter Syndrome. Without exception, every single person who “joined the stage” and spoke up, felt at some point of their creative journey either themselves or their work to be inadequate.
Some fight it and win, while the battle still rages on within others. I tend to be a member of the latter group. Listening to those stories, I thought it worthwhile to share some of the techniques people use to overcome the Imposter Syndrome.
What is the Imposter Syndrome?
In itself, it’s been defined in various ways. They can all be summed up as a feeling of not belonging, of being fraudulent, a fear of being exposed, feeling success is a result of luck, not a skill; or feeling of inadequacy, despite the evident success. Each person experiences the Imposter Syndrome differently.
Perfectionism and Imposter Syndrome go hand-in-hand. Perfectionists usually either set extremely high goals. If they are not able to reach them, they experience the feeling of self-doubt and failure; or just as well are never able to finish their work, always improving it, not publishing, and moving on.
Since some people would consider themselves fraudulent as opposed to the real pros, they’d often push themselves harder and harder to measure up. Such extreme engagement may lead to burnout and eventually giving up.
Others expect to be natural geniuses. They would judge the success on the speed and ease of delivery, rather than how much effort they put in. To them, if too much time is spent on something, it naturally cannot be great. Getting things done, fast and right is extremely important for this group. Again, not achieving such outcomes leads to self-doubt and giving up.
Another group would consider real success only if achieved individually. Not asking for help is a way for them to prove self-worth.
One very specific group which I believe to be most susceptible to self-doubt and the Imposter Syndrome are “amateurs”. Being an amateur or hobbyist means they can only be as good as the title says. Not being paid or having some sort of approval in form of education, license or certification is a clear sign indicating lower self-worth.
As you can see, the Imposter Syndrome is many things to many people. If we rationally think about the issue, we know not to listen to our inner voice, the self-doubt monkey on our shoulders. However when it comes to creating, putting the work out there, hitting “publish”, “send” or “upload”, all of these feelings come rushing in. Unfortunately, some lose the battle and give up.
What can you do to avoid falling into this category and periodically hit that button? How do creatives silence the self-doubt monkey? What can we do to not stand in the way of our success? How can we proudly stand by our work, even if criticized?
Coming back to the Clubhouse discussion, these are some of the techniques I heard about and I believe them to be worthwhile sharing here.
Give yourself a break.
Being too hard on yourself, trying to make everything perfect, whether it’s perfection in terms of the work quality or delivery speed, constrains your self-confidence and builds anxiety. Just as trying to make everything perfect, having high expectations can be crippling too.
Now, high expectations are OK. Desired even. However, be sure to place them correctly. Have high expectations of your efforts. The work outcomes. Be your own critic and censor the work you put out there. Placing your expectations there makes sense.
So now you’ve done the work and it’s our there. Don’t go about having high expectations on how your art performs, especially on social media. You can’t influence it. You can’t influence how others will like your work, even less what the “algorithm” will do.
Therefore, have high expectations and then, give yourself a break.
Just practice
Yes, simple as that. Go out, practice, make sure you know your gear, composition, identify your intention, repeat. Put in the hours and you’ll realize the feeling of inadequacy, being a fraud, an imposter, fades away with every successful shot you make.
Even better, go out and practice with the aim of not showing the results to anyone. Practice just for you.
Athletes don’t show you every attempt on goal done in training. Their falls, misplaced passes, dropped balls, false starts are all invisible to us. But still, they do them. Once they go out on the field though, they show us their best. They are athletes. One becomes an athlete by training.
Train. Practice. Fail. Become an athlete.
Be content with what you are
Are you taking photos? Then, you are a photographer. Are you making illustrations? Then, you are an illustrator. Are you painting? Then, you are a painter.
Whatever you do, there is no definition, formula, or combination of skills you must have to call yourself whatever you want. You are what you do.
I am now writing these words. Am I a writer? Yes. Later, I will go and do some street photography. Am I a photographer? Yes.
Consistency is key
One of the most repeated success factors in beating the “Imposter Syndrome” is the consistency in doing what we are trying to become. If you start something today, you will feel inexperienced and potentially fraud-like. Do it again tomorrow, and the feeling will be smaller, although it will still be there. Do it again and again until the feeling of being inadequate is so small, you won’t even notice it. The thing is, the more we do something the more natural it becomes, and therefore we will not feel like imposters down the road. It just requires consistency… So whatever you do, don’t stop.
Invest in education and experience
You know about GAS, or Gear Acquisition Syndrome, right? We are constantly being told we need the newest and latest gadget to be able to deliver outstanding results. Cameras, lenses, and so on.
While I agree to some extent that good quality gear is necessary to achieve the desired outcome, I feel that knowing what the outcome is, being intentional with our art is more important.
Now just having the intention might not be enough either. I may have the intention to photograph something but without understanding how the exposure triangle works I will have a hard time. I may want to make an amazing studio portrait but without knowledge about lightning and strobes, I will struggle.
Therefore investing in education rather than gear will bring more of an advancement.
Furthermore, investing in experiences, traveling, or finding access to subjects, is much more valuable long-term, rather than buying a new lens. Think of it this way: The purchase in itself does not guarantee great photographs. Will buying an airplane ticket to Tibet? More likely, yes!
Pay attention to your mental wellbeing
Just as any other aspect of our lives, our creative strength and ability to work productively are very much impacted by the state of our minds. Once we feel balanced, at peace, and worry-free, we become more confident, productive, we experience less stress and therefore less fraud-like.
Mindfulness, meditation, or prayer help many people. Others keep diaries, to-do lists, task managers, or phone reminders. It’s important to balance our creative busy lives.
Some disconnect periodically while others do digital detox days/weeks/months.
Disconnecting from social media has been repeatedly confirmed as one of the best ways of improving mental wellbeing. Constantly comparing yourself to others is a huge source of anxiety, envy, and also, the Imposter Syndrome.
Find ways to be creative, to work, relax, and recharge. Find what works for you.
Thanks for reading! You can find all my writing here. Let’s connect here.
