You don’t need to be an expert to be an expert

In kindergarten they were already asking us what we wanted to be when we grew up.

By ninth grade we were choosing and deleting courses from our schedules based on what we wanted to major in in college.

Before even arriving on campus freshman year we’d begun to research and screen different companies for internship opportunities.

When it comes to extracurriculars like piano or swimming lessons, we’re sorted into numerical levels, and told we aren’t allowed to try or learn certain things until we’ve reached a particular number.

Imaginary standards

These structures, although at times useful, foster a belief that there is only one way to get from Point A to Point B. They make us feel like unless we have passed certain imposed standards, we aren’t qualified to pursue or try certain things.

They make us feel like we need years of planning, practice and commitment to a singular idea in order to be successful.

They make us equate following a plan and structure with success.

But these pre-carved pathways that are so common in our society aren’t the only roads to success. You are allowed to take unconventional routes, to change your goals and to grow.

You don’t need a test score

If I’m good at math, chances are if I were to sit down and take a math test, I would do well. Now, if I didn’t take that test, would my mathematical abilities worsen? Or cease to exist altogether? No! Of course not. That’s ridiculous.

So why do we doubt ourselves and put ourselves down when it comes to the real world?

If you’re considering pursuing a career outside your degree, or turning your long-time hobby into a start-up, but you’re scared that you’ve never received formal training, it’s OK.

If you’re considering scrapping a plan you’ve spent years following, that’s OK too.

The only person who needs to approve your plan and give you the permission to set it in motion is you.

Imposter-ish Syndrome

This idea that we need to meet certain criteria, or have completed certain tasks or taken certain pathways in order to be successful, can eat away at our confidence when it comes time to try new things.

This feeling of being unworthy is similar to something called ‘Imposter Syndrome’. Imposter Syndrome is when we discount our successes and convince ourselves that we aren’t qualified to be pursue interests or paths, leading us to live in fear that others will also think we are unqualified and view us as ‘frauds’.

When we’re surrounded by a society that supports this notion that we are unqualified to live our own lives, it starts to strip away our identity.

We feel as though we aren’t permitted to like or try certain things. Even if we feel passionately about them.

Instead of our personalities being made up of our own likes and dislikes, they instead are made up of what we’re supposed to like, based on what we’ve done in the past.

We are no longer able to incorporate experimentation or creativity or dreams into our lives, we are only allowed to pursue the areas in which we’ve received ‘certification’, or already exist on the pathways we’re on.

Living “safely”

So, we play it safe. We condition ourselves to shy away from risks and new adventures because we fear embarrassment. We fear being labeled an ‘imposter’ or a ‘fraud’.

But this line of thinking is so limiting. Fear of trying new things holds us back from diving into new experiences and new kinds of learning.

It stops us from making progress.

It also stops us from recognizing true skill and ability, even if it isn’t “traditionally” manifested.

Be your own expert

Instead of buying into this, remember that you don’t have to be an expert to be an expert.

There is no shame in being self-taught or in deciding to pursue something you had never planned to until this very minute.

Not having the same experience as someone else doesn’t make you less intelligent, less hardworking or your ideas less valuable.

There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to get from Point A to Point B.

If you want to start your own business, then do it.

If you want to take dance lessons for the first time at 30, do it.

You are in control of your own pathway and all the stops along it.