Overcoming Imposter Syndrome After 10 Years As A Copywriter

Plus 5 Tips To Deal With It When It Strikes.

Whether you are just beginning a career in writing or have been in the business for many years, you can never seem to shake off the feeling like you’re just faking it until you make it.

It’s safe to say that for most writers, it’s a problem we face at least more than once in our lifetime. So much so, that experts are even calling it an epidemic.

But, what exactly is an ‘Imposter Syndrome’?

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as :-

‘A psychological condition that is characterised by persistent doubt concerning one’s abilities or accomplishments accompanied by the fear of being exposed as a fraud despite evidence of one’s ongoing success’

For me, it comes in waves and seasons, striking at the most inopportune times of my life. Especially when I’m rushing to meet a deadline or pitching for a new project. I call these sudden waves — ‘Imposter Moments’.

The irony is that ‘imposter moments’ usually happens to those who are already at the peak of their careers.

After struggling with it for many years and having to deal with bouts of depression, anxiety and a spiralling self confidence, I’ve since mastered the art of managing these ‘imposter moments’ when it hits.

But first, you need to find out the root cause of the problem and ask yourself these pertinent questions to understand the ‘why’.

What situation/interaction/person/ has triggered you to feel this way?

When do you feel the most vulnerable?

Where in your life has this happened the most?

How does it make you feel like an imposter?

Here are 3 reasons why we have these ‘imposter moments’:

1. We Need To Feel Validated

We crave validation from the people most closest to us e.g. family, friends or spouse.

Everyone wants to feel that they matter. We want to be heard and understood especially from the people closest to us (e.g. family members, friends or spouse). But, when the people we hold in high regard somehow sparked a comment or situation to invalidate our feelings and opinions in an attempt to downplay our achievements, this can almost instantly trigger our imposter moments.

2. We Don’t Know How To Handle Rejection

Our immediate reaction to a rejection is assigning blame to ourselves.

Rejection is a hard pill to swallow but it is a part of life, yet most people still can’t seem to handle it well. The first thing we do when we feel rejected is to blame ourselves. We tend to internalise the pain and hurt from the rejection, eventually affecting our thoughts, moods and feelings. Over time, this will fester deep within our psyche and materialise into fear, self doubt and embarrassment.

3. We Seek Perfection In Everything We Do

Perfectionism is one of the root causes of the imposter syndrome.

Perfectionism and imposter syndrome goes hand in hand. Our lofty, self-imposed standards often isolates us from others. Think about it: We set excessively high goals for ourselves, and when we fail to live up to it, we immediately crucify ourselves about not measuring up to our own standards. We need to understand that while aspiring for perfection is not necessarily a bad thing, no person is ever perfect.

Recognising my triggers and knowing the reasons why has inspired me to come up with my own ways to deal with imposter syndrome.

Here are 5 tips to deal with ‘imposter moments’ : —

Tip #1 Celebrate Your Accomplishments

Celebrate the wins, reflect on the losses.

• The minute you start to have doubts, look back at your previous campaigns, projects or awards which you’ve won and are the most proud of. It will serve as a reminder of your success and how hard you’ve worked to get to where you are now.

Tip #2 Compare Yourself With Yourself (and not others)

Comparing yourself with yourself is a sign of growth.

• The biggest mistake you can ever do is compare yourself with other writers. Instead, compare your past self to your current self in terms of personal growth. When I first started out as a writer, it would take me days to figure out what to write and even then I struggled to string two sentences together yet alone an entire paragraph! Today, I have not only developed my own voice, niche and writing style, I can even manage to finish an article in one day!

Tip #3 Find Your Niche And Write What You Know

Always write what you know.

• Not all writers excel at the same type of writing. But that doesn’t mean they’re not good at writing altogether. The trick to finding your niche is to write as much as possible until you find the type of writing that comes naturally to you. I’d usually start with writing about topics I know, rather than what I think people want to read. Because the last thing you want to do is write about something you are pretending to know as opposed to what you actually know.

Tip #4 Emulate But Not Imitate

They say imitation is a form of flattery but emulation born from admiration and respect.

• Identify a role model you aspire to become and research how well they do it. When I first started out my niche writing award submissions for ad campaigns, I would often look at past case studies written by ad agencies who have won major awards like Cannes Lion to study their success rates. It helped me identify the winning ingredient in their approach, so I can improve my writing skills and emulate their success.

Tip #5 Get Constructive Feedback And Support

A strong support system will validate your skills and growth.

• It’s hard to know whether what you’re writing is good enough or if we are on the right track. Establish a go-to support system to seek out constructive feedback on your writing. There are many online forums, groups and communities for writers out there such as Quora, Reddit or Critique Circle where you ask for feedback on your writing to improve yourself. You will find that you are not alone in this journey and find other writers willing to lend a helping hand.

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter what stage you are in your writing career, these 5 tips will help you battle those imposter demons inside of you that make you question your self worth.

Impostor feelings can arise at any career shift, especially if the people you are surrounded by have different achievements. But it is also important to remember that having these feelings is considered normal and a sign of personal growth.

I will leave you with a favourite quote of mine from author Marianne Williamson from the book ‘A Return To Love’.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.”

Marianne Williamson