How I Told My Imposter Syndrome to Shut Up and How You Can Too

How I Told My Imposter Syndrome to Shut Up and How You Can Too

We all have a bit of Imposter Syndrome from time to time. Some days it’s worse than others. Sometimes the imposter in us gets the better of us, it tells us to give up or cripples us and our dreams with it.

It really doesn’t have to be that way.

That’s right.

It really doesn’t…

I told my Imposter Syndrome to “shut up” and here’s how you can too.

The worst thing is listening to it shouting over your shoulder at you;

“Who do you think you are?”
“Who is going to listen to YOU?”
“You’re not good enough to do that”
“You don’t know enough about that”
“You don’t have enough experience to do that”

Can you identify with any of the above and how many of you have convinced yourself that these were true for you at some point in time? I think we have all heard words like these from within our own self-doubt. It’s easy to doubt ourselves and then the more we analyse a situation the more we begin to procrastinate, the more self-doubt creeps in and before we know it, we are not good enough to get the job done or put ourselves forward for an opportunity.

[bctt tweet=”I drowned out the voice of the Imposter until it was a mere whisper” username=”@umbrelladigita1″]

Time for change

I’ll let you in on a secret. You can tell your Imposter Syndrome to “shut up”.

Yes, you can. You have to grow into the mindset and begin to believe in yourself. I know that’s not so easy but the best way to do this is to take action. You can take very small steps, every single day, one day at a time. If the things that you want to do are not getting done because you don’t think you can, then break down what you are trying to achieve into small actionable steps to help you get there.

If your aim is a pretty big goal, you wouldn’t think to climb to the top of the mountain in one great big footstep? No, of course not. You have to plot out your journey, work out how many steps to each milestone on the way, and then start walking. One step at a time. You have your goal in sight but now it doesn’t seem so out of reach because the small actions you take every day make it not seem overwhelming.

Twelve months ago, I had a big fat goal which was to build websites in WordPress, look after my own portfolio of clients and be able to help others in the WordPress space.

Twelve months ago, I had no WordPress clients to look after, I didn’t know many people in the WordPress space and I had no portfolio to manage. But I knew I wanted that more than anything.

Did I hear the Imposter Syndrome talking to me? Oh my! I certainly did. All. The. Time.

Not good enough
Didn’t know enough
Who would believe me?
Do I even have a voice?

Have a Plan

I had a plan. A step by step plan. I did a step of my plan every single day. I lived outside of my comfort zone, every single day. I felt nervous at some point, every single day. I felt the fear and did it anyway.

I began to tick things off the list. I made connections, surrounded myself with like-minded, supportive people, I banished the naysayers, I learned all the time, I helped others, I spent hours troubleshooting, getting things wrong so I understood and got it right the next time. I failed so I could succeed. Before I knew it, six months had passed. I had my clients, I had built my websites, I gained certification with WP Elevation, I helped others in the WordPress space, I continued to get better every day until I felt I was succeeding, flying and living my dream in the now. I’m still on my climb up the mountain but I’m living in the “now”.

“You can do it”

That’s what I said to myself every time the “Imposter” piped up. Except, I said it louder than “it” did. I drowned out the voice of the Imposter until it was a mere whisper.

So now when I feel the doubt creeping in, I look back over my shoulder to twelve months ago, to see exactly how far I have come.

Now the Imposter doesn’t have a voice.

If you want to hear some more on this subject, tune into my interview with Lee Jackson from Agency Trailblazers on their podcast. 

Agency Trailblazer Imogen Allen

Listen Here

I’d love to hear how you cope with your Imposter Syndrome. Drop a comment below!

Imogen Allen

Imogen Allen

I'm a Website Strategist and the creator of The WIF®, on a quest to help stop projects waiting on content for all web agencies once and for all. Passionate about helping others find their website identity and championing websites which speaks to humans in a language they understand.

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