And it’s actually really simple to do.
Do you know the #1 thing visionaries and leaders struggle with most?
Imposter syndrome
What is that?
Imposter syndrome is feeling like you’re not expert enough, not articulate enough, not strong enough — not whatever enough — to share what’s in your heart and soul. It’s feeling like a fraud and the fear of being exposed as a fraud, even though you’re an intelligent, capable and high-achieving authority in your field.
And behind that come 2 more incredibly important things we struggle with:
- Not trusting your intuition
- Being afraid to speak your truth
Sound familiar? If you’re anything like me and the dozens of clients I’ve worked with, it’s probably more than familiar.
But here’s how you can resolve it. . .
Let go of perfectionism. Nobody is perfect so stop expecting yourself — and everything you do — to be. Strive for excellence in all you do — don’t do anything less than your best — but stop trying to be perfect. And remember that being wrong sometimes, doesn’t make you fake.
Focus on providing value. Often when you’re experiencing feeling like a fake, it’s because you’re concerned more about YOU than anything else. “What will they think of me? What will they say about my work? What if I fail? If I fail, nobody will like me.” The fastest way to get over that, is to just go help someone else.
Keep a file of praises. Every time you receive a compliment, a praise, a testimonial, save it. I keep mine in Evernote. And whenever you’re feeling less than, go dig those up and read through them so you can remember the people you’ve helped before.
Stop comparing yourself to others. When you compare yourself to someone else, remember that you’re often seeing their end result, the years of work they’ve put in.
“The reason why we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” (Steven Furtick)
Accept yourself. Accept your flaws, your insecurities, your failures. And remember that you can’t win until you try. So stop feeling like you don’t deserve to be in the game, much less win, when you haven’t even started. Just get in the game! Accept that you deserve to be there.
Holding back robs the world of your genius. Walking around feeling that you shouldn’t be here, that maybe you should be someone else, that you don’t deserve it, stunts your truest expression. And when you do that, you can’t be there for the people who need you.
You know what always silences imposter syndrome, though? (And almost everything else, for that matter. . .)
Taking action! Fear, perfectionism, imposter syndrome — they all magically disappear when you just go do it!
Now, I want you to do 2 things immediately:
- comment below and tell me the #1 thing you’re struggling with right now
- go create your own praise file!
And I’ll see you again soon.
xo ~Annie
Ready for the next step?
If you’re ready to embody your message and your mission on this planet, I’d love to speak with you. Fill out the application on my website and I’ll be in touch to setup a conversation. https://annieanderson.com/new-application/
Originally published at medium.com