This is the year to kick the pesky imposter syndrome to the curb and move forward on your journey towards reaching your full potential. We hope the stories and lessons below will help you overcome self-doubt.
Madison (madi) Walser
To be honest, I haven’t fully overcome imposter syndrome, and I’m not sure it’s something anyone ever completely conquers. One of the common misconceptions is that you’ll eventually reach a point where those feelings of inadequacy simply vanish. In reality, life is constantly evolving, and every time I step into a new role or challenge, those moments of self-doubt inevitably reappear. Read more>>
Leslie Scofield
I acknowledged my feelings and recognized that I was experiencing Imposter Syndrome. I talked about it with my mentors and friends which made me feel heard and seen. I focused on my achievements, kept a record of my accomplishments, put my trophies up in my office. I took my list of tasks and broke them down into manageable and achievable steps. This reduced my feelings of overwhelm. When negative thoughts came to me, I reminded myself of my skill set and experiences. Read more>>
Wesley Southard
In the eighteen years I’ve been writing genre fiction, I’ve been wildly fortunate to meet so many incredible individuals. People that I once considered an inspiration, authors that made me want to write and create my own stories, I now call close friends and peers. I think the hardest part is not taking any of those relationships for granted. I’ve seen too many of my fellow creatives throw one another under the bus, or climb on someone else’s shoulders for that chance to get ahead. Believe me when I say, people will notice. Time and again, I’ve watched people come and go, whether by their own accord or having a mob grab them by the shirt and belt and toss them out on their behinds. Read more>>
Michele Mcavoy
I don’t think imposter syndrome is ever completely overcome. Imposter syndrome sneaks in more often than we would like. Studies have shown that it happens to women more than men. Whenever imposter syndrome rears its ugly head, I look to other smart, successful women like Jennifer Lopez or Jessica Alba, who both found success creatively and in business, and say to myself, if they can do it, so can I! I also say to myself, what would I tell my kids? As parent’s we often tell our kids to persevere; that they can achieve anything they put their mind to. Why would it be different for us? Read more>>
Sierra L. Boone
Whenever I start to feel like I’m not good enough to be doing what I’m doing, I crack open a book that’s helped me so much on my children’s media journey. It’s titled “Sunny Days,” by David Kamp. The book details the very beginning of the nostalgic shows many of us know and love — Sesame Street, Mister Rogers, etc. I read about how Mister Rogers started his show in his early twenties, with a few puppets, a friend and a local audience. Plus? Tons of passion to help kids. Read more>>
Alex Schumacher
The honest answer to this is that I don’t believe anyone truly overcomes imposter syndrome, for those who experience it. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Having said that, you’re not required to allow the affliction to dominate your engagement with your dreams and aspirations. Most often it’s a byproduct of certain environmental factors that condition us to believe we are undeserving of success or praise. Therapy can help to some degree. Medications can help to some degree. We never truly vanquish that terrible choir in the back of our minds warbling about how we are unqualified for our station or somehow tricked people into appreciating our work though. You keep that trash forever like the receipts at the bottom of your reusable bags. Read more>>
Sarah Levine-miles
As a therapist, you might assume that I have my inner world all figured out. After all, my job is to help others navigate their thoughts and emotions, right? But here’s the truth: I’ve never truly “overcome” imposter syndrome. It’s been a persistent, familiar presence in my life, but I’ve learned to live alongside it rather than allow it to paralyze me. In fact, embracing that discomfort—without the expectation of ever completely eliminating it—has become a cornerstone of my personal and professional journey. Read more>>
Cathleen Celaya Simmons, Nicole Dines And Jordan Santoro All Together
Everyone deals with imposter syndrome at some point in their career. We are so lucky that we have three founders of Unorganized Home because we continuously get to remind each other “blinders up.” If we just keep doing what we know how to do, we keep making clients lives easier, keep making those connections to people, and keep moving forward with a company that we believe is doing good for ourselves and others, then imposter syndrome has no where to thrive. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, it just means we do our best every day to keep each other focused on the job ahead. Read more>>
Tamara Curtis
Acknowledging my feelings, while recognizing that imposter syndrome is a common experience, especially among high achievers. Knowing It’s okay to feel this way, while understanding it’s important not to let it define you. Celebrating my achievements, reflecting on accomplishments and the hard work that got me here. Owning one’s successes helps to reinforce self-worth.
Seeking support, surrounding myself with supportive people who believe in me and my goals. Mentors, friends, and family provide valuable perspective and encouragement. Read more>>
K.janea’ Daniel
As someone who struggled with imposter syndrome, and at times still struggles, I believe the best way to overcome it is to DO the thing; whatever the thing is. I used to talk myself out of things or overthought them until I no longer had the desire to do said things. I’ve learned that if I continue to let imposter syndrome consume me, I may never achieve the goals I’ve set for myself and realized i was only holdign myself back. So now, I just “do it” evem with my with my eyes closed sometimes, because in reality, what’s the worst that could happen? Read more>>
Natasha Walstra
Interestingly, I had to trick myself! A manager turned mentor kept telling me over and over again how good I was – not just with my job, but my interactions, connections, relationships, etc etc. – yet I struggled to believe her. As she got more frustrated, I finally thought, “Well, I trust and believe her, so if she says it’s true, I am going to have to trust and believe that it’s true, even if I don’t yet believe it!” Read more>>
Taylor Jeffers
If I waited until I felt I was good enough , I would be waiting forever. I cant say I’ve overcome imposter syndrome, but I push through every single time, because not being able to work for ourselves feels so much worse. The amount of talent out there is absolutely mind blowing and honestly overwhelming. Social media has really connected us and has been a major catalyst to our brand, yet is one of the main sources that can feed into my experience with imposter syndrome. As an artist, I just want to create, make a statement, and do something a little different, but that requires sharing parts of my soul, putting our work out there and actually engaging which can definitely include criticism. Read more>>
Anna Svetchnikov
Imposter syndrome is something we all feel from time to time, but it’s not all bad. It’s a sign that we’re stepping outside of our comfort zones. What helps is challenging negative thoughts by focusing on the positive impacts and the growth potential. Keeping note of your strengths and achievements can counteract doubts and clarify where you excel and where you can improve. Aim high but not for perfection, and celebrate successes rather than minor flaws. Most importantly, shift away from attributing success to luck and start recognizing your hard work and abilities. Read more>>
Jennie Armstrong
Here’s the thing: A lot has been written about imposter syndrome, but I believe most advice is surface-level (“Just believe in yourself!”) and doesn’t actually get to what’s going on underneath. For me, imposter syndrome was rooted in toxic perfectionism. I understood what my imposter syndrome was causing: an inability to take action on my biggest dreams and keeping me in a place of judgment. But it wasn’t until I started doing inner child work that I was able to uncover the why. Read more>>
Jemma Wiltshire
I had to completely change the way I thought about my business and distance myself from my designs in order to get over impostor feeling. Realising that, even while my work reflects my creativity, it is a solution rather than something to grow attached to is the process at work. Even now, when I own a profitable design business, I sometimes have questions like, “Is this really good enough?” However, I’ve developed the ability to snap out of it and remind myself that I have a lot of experience, am extremely qualified, and have been doing well in this industry for a long time. Read more>>
Blake Barash
Imposter syndrome is something that a lot of people talk about in podcasts, and in videos. And one common thing everyone says is that you never overcome imposter syndrome. There is always someone better and more experienced. Especially with the Internet you’re bound to see you the most talented people out there. But this actually helped me overcome imposter syndrome. Knowing that the talented experienced people out there still feel imposter syndrome gave me some comfort. The other thing that helped me is learning hard skills. Read more>>
Jasmin Martinez
Imposture Syndrome is something that, I feel, is not linear – it doesn’t just go away. Step 1 is defining it, what is Imposture Syndrome? Per Google, Imposture Syndrome is the persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one’s efforts or skills. For a long time, I survived in flight mode – I stayed busy, I worked 11-15 hour days sometimes, I gauged my success off of how hard/long I worked but had this skewed perspective of the result not being good enough even when I was extremely successful. In my experience, Imposture Syndrome is like a toxic relationship, you know it’s bad for you but in a sick way, it feels impossible to let it go. Read more>>
Annette Van De Kamp
By focusing on joy. The simple motivation of doing things because they bring joy, no matter what others think of it, helped me let go of that worry. Bringing as much joy to the world, and to my own life, is much more important than the opinion of others–besides, we often wrongly imagine others’ negative opinions. We imagine the people around as as judgmental, when they are probably not even thinking about us. Read more>>
Sarah Peguero
At first, it was tough. As a self-taught artist, I often felt like I wasn’t ‘official’ or didn’t belong in the art community because I didn’t have formal training. I realized that every artist, whether formally trained or not, starts from somewhere and improves over time. Instead of comparing myself to others, I began to compare myself to my previous work and celebrate my progress. Read more>>
Ebonie Commey
Alot of the time I’ve underestimated my abilities across many different spaces. As a content creator it can be extremely intimidating seeing larger creators land certain opportunities.
I had to realize how far I’ve come from the beginning stages of my content, creation, and where I am now. I have evolved. I have also grown a lot in terms of the kind of content I make and my editing styles and the kinds of people I’ve associated myself with. And I know wholeheartedly, the kind of content I make and create has greatly improved since when I started and that’s when I started to embody who I truly am. By being myself by being authentic and just having fun. Read more>>
Noelle Mcward Aquino
Overcoming imposter syndrome is an ongoing process, because it can appear anytime we step onto a bigger stage, or into a bigger or more visible version of ourselves. I have encountered imposter syndrome at various points in my journey to becoming an author and all that comes with that. The book, Anxiety Unpacked: Discover Your Type and Recover Your Peace, is based on a model for understanding and treating anxiety I had developed in my work as a therapist, and have taught to fellow therapists on a local level. Read more>>
Yolanda Hall
I am learning in my work that regardless of age, race, gender or status, many people struggle with imposter syndrome at some point in their lifetime. From my point of view, my imposter syndrome stemmed from messages I received as a child that one’s thoughts or behaviors were either “right” or “wrong”, there was no “in between”. It wasn’t about religious beliefs or the legal system, but rather one’s personal belief or opinion of how things were supposed to be. We celebrated those who got it “right” and criticized those who got it “wrong”. Read more>>
Nicci Sevier-vuyk
I’m not sure anyone truly overcomes imposter syndrome, but I’ve developed a certain peace with it. For me, imposter syndrome is rooted in fear, and I strive to adopt the mindset of “feel the fear and do it anyway.” Over time, those feelings of self-doubt and anxiety have started to fade. The more I paint or sculpt, the less those voices are front and center while I’m creating.
I’ve found some ways to cope with those moments of doubt, though. Music is a big one—I’ll often play songs by Bitter:Sweet or The Avener, or have a Marvel movie, like Guardians of the Galaxy, in the background. Something about that background sound helps quiet my inner critic and lets my creativity take over. I’ve probably watched Guardians of the Galaxy more than 50 times at this point!I will say there are still moments when imposter syndrome can make it hard to start creating. Read more>>
