Are you even good enough to have imposter syndrome? 🤔
March 2022 issue
learn and grow with me ✨
I'm Yihui, and I'm grateful for your joining! You're receiving this because you either signed up to learn and grow with me (making, creating, and taking care of your well-being), or it was forwarded to you. If you enjoyed this, feel free to forward it to a friend. Happy to receive feedback too :)
Hi everyone!
The end of March is neigh. The second quarter of the year is beckoning us. Hope March went well for you though, and you managed to accomplish some of your goals. If not, there's always tomorrow, or next week, or next month!
Here's another short one for this month. I like the idea of treating these issues like a monthly retrospective that I share with you all. It feels a bit more personal too, in a way. Let me know if you have any thoughts, as usual!
Are you good enough to have imposter syndrome? 🤔
To some extent, everyone has some degree of imposter syndrome. The extreme side might sound like this: How long more until I'm revealed as a fraud? Will my hiring manager regret taking me in? Am I really good enough at what you do? Am I even good enough to have imposter syndrome? (thinking emoji)
The times when my imposter syndrome peak most are the times when I thought I was good at something but I start to doubt myself because of my unrealistic expectations. And that I will question my value to something. In this case, my new job. I'm happy that I got a pay bump, but I feel like I'm not doing good enough to justify it. I thought I'd be getting the hang of it, but for the past month, I've especially been feeling like an imposter. More so because my gut feeling is telling me that my team isn't talking to me about something I'm lacking.
It slowly dawned on me (as usual) that there is nothing I can do, except focus on my own strengths. Part of the reason I worry is that I know I'm lacking in certain areas that I'm trying to work on. Not too great at certain social interactions, so I rather go back and focus on my work, for example.
There are pros to having imposter syndrome though. It does mean you care about the work you do, because you want to do better. But maybe you also care a bit too much about what others may expect out of you. It also means you're working on something that is outside of your comfort zone. Kudos to you! This is what I've been trying to tell myself for the past month.
So yes, I believe we all have a little imposter syndrome in all of us. It's just that some of us are better at winging it. Hang in there.
What might help address your imposter syndrome (at work):
Focus on your strengths.
Slowly let go of perfectionism.
Talk to your manager and get feedback. (Turns out I completely misunderstood and it was all in my head, as usual! Overthinking kills, my friends. Don't be like me).
Quotes I'm thinking about ✨
1) Are you comfortable in your own skin?
when people wish they were more confident i think they usually mean they were less ashamed of themselves
— mo bombo (@SeanMombo) March 22, 2022
2) Newsflash: Productivity tools and hacks can only do so much.
Productivity doesn't come from copying guru advice.
It comes from knowing yourself, experimenting, & leveling up over time.
To get more done, stop joining the 5am club & subscribing to hustle culture. Instead, figure out what makes you tick & build sustainable habits for you.— Marissa Goldberg (@mar15sa) March 16, 2022
3) Let go of the resistance. Feeling sad? Let it out. You'll feel a bit better after.
'Let go' is one of the most misunderstood 'spiritual' phrases.
You are not asked to let go of 'stuff' (thoughts, emotions, etc.).
It's about letting go of resistance to 'stuff'.
It's about expanding into life and not shutting down life.— Kaloyan Stefanov (@KaloyanStefano3) January 31, 2022
***
Articles and links I'm thinking about ✨
Notes on ambition and agency
"Ambition means you're motivated to play games that others have already created in the world while agency means you're driven to play a game of your own." Consider owning agency a bit more than ambition.
25 Anti-Mimetic Tactics for Living a Counter-Cultural Life
Mimetic desire is the desire to follow not only what people do, but what people want and own as well. It's normal to have this, but how can we stay true to ourselves in that case?
The Rise of the Everyday Creator
Oh hey, it me. Inspirational examples of other everyday creators who still have their full-time jobs.
Til next time. See you in April.
PS: As always, feel free to share feedback with me anytime (what I can do better, what you want to see more of etc) by replying to this email or on Twitter.
Warmest regards,
Yihui Chan
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