Waking Up From Imposter Syndrome
This isn’t much of a story, but it seemed like something that would be relevant here. It started as a tweet, then got longer for a LinkedIn update, and here we are with an adaptation for Medium.
This morning, while preparing for a late afternoon job interview by phone, I reread the cover letter that I’d written a month ago for the job application. I know I’m a solid writer, but this letter was so good that I nearly cried. Over my own writing. I stunned myself. Though this wasn't my thought verbatim, the attitude was, “Woah, this is really good!”
The letter was authentic and factual and spoke with compassion about customer service.
I tend to forget that I’m “good” at stuff. My imposter syndrome often dominates, and for a long time, I’ve been challenging my fear of being seen. (The paradox of a writer, or maybe a shy person, or both: Wanting to be seen and not seen.)
It’s a reminder that every time I write, I write. I am a writer because I write blog posts, but I also write social media posts that people connect with, and I write newsletters, and 1:1 emails. Every time I respond to someone else’s “story” on Medium, I’m writing. Expressing my thoughts and opinions through typing is “writing”.
I don’t write non-fiction anymore. I wrote a lot of it as a child, but now when I contemplate it…
