We’ve got some of the most incredible artists, creatives and entrepreneurs in our community and we are constantly shocked by how prevalent imposter syndrome is. So many incredibly talented folks are haunted by self-doubt by a society that often tells you not to think too highly of yourself, but in order to have the strength to take on big challenges and make meaningful change in the world you’ve got to believe in yourself and so we wanted to create a space for conversations around overcoming imposter syndrome.
Mováge Events
We are sisters brought together by marriage, stemming from different cultural backgrounds, but once united, quickly learned that we experienced some of the same adversities. One of the most prominent challenges was imposter syndrome. In our profession of event planning, we are constantly sharpening our creative craft by attending workshops and conferences. Often we are faced with the obstacle of being one of the few or only people that look like us in a room. This easily ignites our imposter syndrome and makes us feel inferior to our peers. Read more>>
Brittany Mason
I honestly just had to decide that if I want something to happen I have to go for it. I also listen to a lot of self-help and motivation videos on YouTube. Read more>>
Anna Harrington
Conquering imposter syndrome has been a significant personal achievement, one that revolves around the realization that I have a choice in how I respond to it. In the past, my imposter syndrome casted a shadow over my self-esteem and hindered my personal and professional growth. However, over time, I came to understand that I could either allow it to undermine my confidence or take a proactive stance against it. Read more>>
Harley Wallen
I think having a little bit of imposter syndrome is an all honesty, a good thing, and some thing that keeps you grounded as delusions of grandeur may tug at you as you hit a peak. I think it’s important to remember that you’re likely not as good as your hype, and not as bad as your worst critic. But when you do the work and focus on what matters which to me is the journey, I feel most of the time the imposter syndrome feelings don’t get out of hand. Read more>>
Brit O’Brien
This is a constant battle that I feel I’m slowly winning. As a photographer, as a creative person, you’re always looking over your shoulder. Always curious about what other people are doing – and when you do this – it’s hard to not compare success or feel like “Am I supposed to be here?” Read more>>
John Hollingsworth
Imposter Syndrome is something that I am constantly working on and am not sure that I will ever overcome. For the majority of my career as an Audio Engineer, I have been the youngest person in the room, on my team, sometimes even in the entire organization. This very easily can feel like you don’t belong and that you’re just faking it till you make it. And to some extent there is truth in that, because there has definitely been times where I said, “Oh yea I can do that.” When in reality I was in way over my head at the time. However, every time I have managed to pull it off. I think if you were to poll 100 Audio Engineers the majority of them would say that they feel some sense of imposter syndrome on a regular basis. I would not constitute that as a bad thing though as long as it is in moderation, because that will keep you hungry. If I thought I was the best and didn’t feel like I had something to prove each and every time I stepped behind an audio console then I should look for a different career because the passion is no longer there. Every job you do, every interaction you have with someone is an interview for a job down the road, so I have to be on my game every single day. Imposter syndrome helps drive me to be on my game and prove to myself and everyone else that I’m not faking it and that I am good at what I do! Read more>>
Pamela Hoth
Honestly, I’m not sure you really ever do! Even though I take great pride in my work always trying to learn new things, improve my craft and do things that make my clients come back year after year. I think when you truly love what you do you never feel like you’re “good enough” and you always want to be better. I love seeing other creatives viewpoints and use that to increase my awareness as well. I think when you get “too big for your britches” as they say is when you’ll stop feeling like an imposter, but I also feel like that’s when you lose the love of what you do. I always know I will do my best, BUT I can obsess over whether the client will think so, I’m always working on that. Did I meet or hopefully exceed what they were expecting? On the one hand I REALLY want to not feel like an imposter, but on the other hand I want to keep that creative fire burning!! Read more>>
Jacqueline Watchmaker
In medical training imposter syndrome is common. As a medical student you are thrown into the hospital after just 1-2 years of medical training and expected to round on patients, do physical exams and come up with an assessment and plan for treatment. I remember thinking that all my peers were smarter than me and that I didn’t deserve to be on this path. I poured myself into my studies, displayed confidence even when I was in fact not confident and tried to not let me insecurities show. Before I knew it I was top of my class and graduated with honors. I do really think hard work and a little “fake it till you make it” attitude helped me! Read more>>
Lacey Braden
Do you ever really overcome imposter sydrome? I think all creative people go through spells of self-doubt – especially when you go through a period of slow bookings or an inspiration drought. During these moments it is important for me to pull back from my social media intake. I try to find something that inspires me and create. If I indulge in too much scrolling, I find myself comparing myself to other incredible creators and further doubting myself. Read more>>
Brendan Libby
It took me a long time to overcome imposter syndrome. I never loved any of my previous jobs and bounced around a lot which prevented me from growing in any specific field. I was always entry level and while having a great work ethic and being able to hang on to MOST of my jobs I started to get the feeling that maybe I wasn’t meant for more than that. After many years of doing the same thing it became easier and I would take what I could get without taking any risk at all so this way I could never fail at anything. So when I got into barbering it was very weird for me. This was the first time I really was taking a big step in my career and I felt like I didn’t belong there. There isn’t a short answer to how I overcame this..Read more>>
Christina Carlson
I grew up neurodiverse and queer in a very religious home and environment. I had undiagnosed adhd that made my mind operate differently than my siblings and friends. I was “less than” in many ways from my peers who seemed to come by focus and education much more naturally. Because of this I developed a lot of messages surrounding my ability. Underneath the surface I had a very loud inner critic telling me that all I did was not really enough. That I needed to do more and be more. I needed to make up for being me. This affected the way that i saw myself in my field. I felt major imposter syndrome when I looked around at other coaches, who had more education, more poise, more organization. What’s interesting was when I began to realize that I was seeing myself from my inner critics eyes, and realized I had an inner critic, it lost some of it’s hold on me. Read more>>
Caroline Kane and Alli VanKleeck
We have had waves of imposter syndrome as artists, but we think that’s a very normal part of being artists. In the first few years of muraling, we sometimes struggled with the fact that other muralists in our area didn’t have our same style, but then we realized that was a good thing. To be unique sometimes feels like you’re doing things wrong, but it can often mean you are filling a niche or challenging what’s normal/popular. We’ve found a lot of success in being different. Read more>>
Brad Hyland
I don’t think anyone ever truly escapes from the occasional “imposter syndrome” thoughts… it’s just part of business life as an entrepreneur in a freelance economy. Those fleeting moments of worry or self-doubt just need to be compartmentalized and used as fuel to keep learning and growing. I have two short quotes posted in my home studio…. ” GREAT THINGS NEVER CAME FROM COMFORT ZONES” and ” YOU DON’T GET MUCH DONE…IF YOU ONLY GRIND ON THE DAYS YOU FEEL GOOD” These are 2 little reminders to always keep plowing ahead. Every “no” you get, is a yes in the making. Also- surround yourself with trusted friends and professionals from within your business, and they’ll keep your head on straight for you! Read more>>
Dunnie Onasanya
At times I have experienced and overcome “imposter syndrome” in my artistry journey.
For example in 2018 when it came time for me to apply for the studio artist residency program at VisArts Center Art Gallery. Due to the fact that I was experiencing feelings of uncertainty I literally turned my application in the day before the deadline. Read more>>
Maverick Pascal
I saw something somewhere that said that we are all technically imposters. As a black neurodivergent I feel that all the time. But I think of other people who might feel the same way, that is what usually drives me to put in my best effort. I also saw an article from Forbes that said “Confidence is not a fixed attribute; it’s the outcome of the thoughts we think and the actions we take. No more; no less.” I think imposter syndrome is becoming more and more of a popularized term, So I def need to do some more research on it. I do my best to remember to at least show up to the challenge. Sounds hella cliche but I always regret not trying something out of fear. Read more>>
Emma Petty
To be honest, I feel like most artists hardly overcome imposter syndrome fully. The difference for me has been a simple mindset switch from, “I don’t know if I should be here,” to “I’m here for a reason.” Self doubt may trickle in from time to time, I feel like that’s a part of creating, but understand that every step is a necessary part of the creative process and try not to spend time worrying about where you stand in a group of people. If they act any type of way toward you for wanting to grow, it’s not worth your time! Read more>>
Brandon Nguyen
Imposter syndrome, I believe, is extremely common in the DMV as a creative. The amount of talent in our space is insane. There is a lot of success, but many people are still trying to reach where they want to be. It is so easy to get lost in your ways when you start comparing your success to others. You start to lose why you even fell in love with why you even started being a creative in the first place. Remember why you even like doing this. For me, it was my love for sneakers and capturing them on feet. Eventually, learning through others and being inspired by other photographers, fashion, music, and more created a pathway to falling in love with photography and videography. My way of overcoming imposter syndrome is by celebrating the wins I have already achieved, looking back at the work I’ve done, and being aware that all that matters at the end of the day is that you put out something for the world to see from your own perspective. Own it and accept the support and love you receive, because it is best when it’s from the people you love and support you from the beginning. Read more>>
Shametria Gonzales
I was a young women that had a ton of hard times growing up! I was tossed around home to home! I. Didn’t have any money. I was trafficked and assaulted while I was a teen. I had a baby as a teen! Things were going really bad for me and soon I would get my break. A coach saved me. He allowed me a chance to change my life and I went to college, started advocating for women and children. After that job I started working for a 501c3 that’s cared about men that had just got out of the prison to get back on their feet and stay out of trouble so my life was going good. I started to feel imposter syndrome when life started to feel to good. I would ask myself why me. Who am I? Why did I get saved? I was basing all my actions on the fact that I wanted to prove people wrong! It was so sad. I wanted to show everyone I was somebody and I overcame my past. I could not shake the feeling like no matter how hard I tried people would just see me as who I used to be! Now I see how God has blessed me to see that and I was able to overcome it by shifting from one perspective to my own perception. I started to see I was worthy and worth all the good I was receiving. I practiced daily affifmations and devotionals that allowed me to graps a new perception of myself. Read more>>
Laurence Boswell
Imposter syndrome is real when starting a business for the first time. I knew I had the skill level to be a professional photographer and offer quality images to my clients, but I felt “bad” for charging a reasonable amount. I didn’t want my potential clients to walk away if I charged them too much. I also didn’t realize what the market price was for most of my services. It took a lot of training with a personal coach to help me find my confidence, which ultimately helped me overcome imposter syndrome. There is a point where I realized that I had put in years of work to master my skill, and that I should charge what is worth my time, no matter if the client were to walk away or not. Once I understood that, I was able to see myself differently. Read more>>
Stephanie Perez
This is a great question that I feel everyone faces time to time. Especially in social media where it is so easy to compare yourself. Overcoming imposter syndrome requires you to remind yourself of your talents, strengths, and your reason for starting. Read more>>
Alexandria Garcia
As a person who has always been held to high standards by my family, myself, and those around me who believed in me and my potential- imposter syndrome was unavoidable. To know that so many people believed in the “future me”, it was so easy to feel as if the “present me ” was never really good enough so I inevitably took on the features of who everyone thought I was great enough to become. Read more>>
Jada Howell
If I’m being honest, I’d say that I haven’t completely snuffed out feelings of imposter syndrome. I think, at least for me, that it’s something that I’ll live with. There are good days and bad days. I think as a business owner, when everything falls on you, there are moments when it feels like too much to carry. Then there are the days that you wouldn’t change a thing. Read more>>
Audra Noblet
Imposter syndrome is something I still struggle with sometimes, and I know I’m not alone. We all have our bad days and can be our own worst critic. I love that a part of my job is regularly photographing and posting my work on my social media pages. .When I need a reminder, I go back and look at my past work and I can see how much I’ve grown, even in the smallest ways. I remember that I have to trust the process. I see more experienced makeup artists that have the same progression and it inspires me to be on their level one day. Read more>>
Kelsey Flint
Imposter syndrome manifested as an overwhelming sense of inadequacy since being diagnosed with a chronic illness. I felt like I wasn’t able ever to be good enough or as good as those around me and self-sabotaged and missed a lot of opportunities out of fear that I wouldn’t be able to pull myself together. I began to slowly shift my focus from myself to helping others. I started my Master’s program in psychology and starting my PhD in clinical psychology next year. This has all allowed me to cultivate my true calling & hone in on my empathy skills on a deeper level, and strengthen my sense of purpose beyond my personal insecurities. Over several months I began to gradually chip away at the walls of my self-doubt and find my place in the world. Read more>>
Candace Stribling
As a female jewelry designer, I am no stranger to imposter syndrome. It can be tough to shake off the feeling that you don’t truly belong in the industry, especially when doubts and negative thoughts creep in. Read more>>
Anna Groos
I still get my feelings hurt for a moment when clients or friends work with a different photographer. But I taught myself to be just as quick to remind myself that things like photography and art are subjective. My style might not be for everyone and it doesn’t have to be. And just because they work with someone else, it doesn’t mean they don’t think I’m good at what I do or that they won’t work with me again. Knowing it’s mostly in my head is half the battle. The other half is accepting that I am good at what I do. Read more>>
Sandra Ocasio
For me the only way I got over imposter syndrome was understanding that I can’t get good at anything unless I keep trying it. Everyday I show up wanting to be a little better everyday.
I remember telling myself, “I want to be a sought out speaker”, and every time I got the opportunity to speak, I would freeze. The only way I started getting good at speaking was getting consistent with it. The consistency brought confidence and that confidence diminished the imposter syndrome feeling. Read more>>
Misha Guseynov
It’s a work and progress and I am still experiencing it at times. I realized that the only true way to overcome this feeling is by doing the best you can.
I often view work of other photographers & videographers whom I consider better than me. I’ve learned instead of thinking that my work may not be good to learn how these professionals achieve the quality of work they present. Read more>>
