Life Lessons
Breaking Free from Impostor Syndrome
What if being ourselves is all we ever needed?
“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” — Ernest Hemingway
I love this Hemingway quote.
For years, I fought against my insecurities of not being good enough, feeling like I did not deserve a seat at the same table as the experts in the fields of my interest.
It plagued me in every avenue I pursued — personally or professionally. The self-doubt would creep in, and I’d reject every ounce of success I gained.
I’d play it off to chance, or I just happened to be at the right place and time. I didn’t deserve recognition. I wasn’t worthy.
I was struggling with impostor syndrome.
It’s a kind of self-doubt stemming from a place of lack.
Instead of reminding myself I was enough, it kept me trapped under the rubble of fear and insufficiency.
“Am I good enough? Should I be doing this? Isn’t there someone more qualified?”
I realised that the deeper down the hole I went, the more I unknowingly built up a facade of reputation that I had to live up to.
