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| Ralph Nelson Willett |
~ Dawn
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Have you ever felt that your work just wasn’t good enough, or that you didn’t belong in the same room as some of the talented people you see around you? Perhaps you’re an executive, artist or like me, an author, and you feel like you should be in hiding for fear that someone will discover that you are not who or what you say you are. In other words, do you sometimes feel like a fraud or an impostor? This is called “Impostor syndrome” and it may snag many of us during our careers.
Wikipedia defines Impostor Syndrome as “a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts his or her accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a ‘fraud’.”
Many very accomplished individuals often feel unworthy. Despite the external evidence of their awards or accolades, they believe that their success is due to luck or some other contributing factor not related to themselves.
The good news is that those individuals who don’t have these feelings are no more intelligent than we are, they just think differently about themselves. How you think about yourself can be changed. Let’s look at what we can do to change our thought process.
- Take a moment and write down on paper what you were thinking the last time you felt like an impostor. If you wrote something like, “I don’t belong in this job,” then write down why you do belong in that job. Write something like, “I trained for this job,” or “I’m here because I know X, Y, Z.” There are always reasons why you are where you are. Write down what they are.
- If you’re an author or an artist, make note of what your accomplishments are. For example, just writing a book is an accomplishment. How many people do you know that feel that they have a book inside them just waiting to get out? Almost everyone feels that way. How many of those people have ever sat down to write that book? Very few. Just the fact that you put the time and energy in to write a book puts you in a special category. You can own that.
- Understand that everyone makes mistakes. Often, when you’re feeling like an impostor, you’re focused on the mistakes you’ve made. Change your view on what mistakes are: they are a stepping stone to perfecting your chosen craft. No one learns anything without making a few mistakes. Understand that any mistakes you may have made are all part of the learning process.
- As a Christian author, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this for those of you with a similar faith. You are a child of God. (John 1:12) If you believe that, then you understand that no matter what your endeavor, God has gifted you to be able to do it. That’s a pretty powerful thought when you realize you are where you are because you are special in God’s eyes.
Everyone feels inadequate at times. Whether you feel what you’ve created is inadequate or that you’re inadequate for your role, understand that these feelings are normal and can be overcome. Changing how you think about what you do, what you’ve created, or even who you are, can greatly relieve the anxiety you may feel. Accepting that you do belong where you are because you have earned it can be a steppingstone to your next accomplishment.
Follow Ralph Nelson Willett for humor and inspiration tweets. #seriouslywrite #encouragementforwriters via @NorthernOvation
The God Whistle
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| The God Whistle |
Mary is a busy young wife and mother whose comfortable life is shattered by one guilty and costly mistake. No one will forgive her for what happened that night and although it changed her life forever, she has no memory of it.
Desperate to save her marriage, she is led into a relationship with God through the help of a mysterious old man. Seeing how her decisions in the past have shaped her life, Mary struggles to know what God wants of her now. If she can find out, will He return her family to her? Will He give her back the life she had before the night her world fell apart?
The God Whistle is a story of faith, love, and forgiveness. With a narrative that is, by turns, emotional, mystical, warm, and dramatic, the story slowly draws the reader into its spiritual themes. It is an emotional ride from beginning to end with surprises that will keep you riveted page after page.
Ralph Nelson Willett is a faith-based fiction author. He grew up in western Michigan and after marrying his High School sweetheart, he and his wife moved too far from the area they loved. When they became empty nesters, they jumped at an opportunity to return to west Michigan. Now he now works from home in technology and writing Christian Fiction books. He swears he would be able to write more books if he wasn’t addicted to telling the best jokes on Twitter.
Connect with Ralph and learn more about his books by visiting these online sites:
www.twitter.com/NorthernOvation
www.facebook.com/RalphNelsonWillett/
www.amazon.com/author/ralphwillett/
