Fighting Imposter Syndrome

Oh ladies, this is a real thing! As I’m working to build Strong Girls Travel and get the first book launched, I realize that I’m fighting against Imposter Syndrome. Familiar with it?

Imposter Syndrome: noun: anxiety or self-doubt that results from persistently undervaluing one’s competence and active role in achieving success, while falsely attributing one's accomplishments to luck or other external forces.

Nothing could be more real when you’ve left one career you spent a lifetime building only to pursue another avenue you’ve only dreamt about. And now that I’m in the throes of making this dream a reality, nothing is more “trippy” than the fight in my brain of whether or not I am capable of making this work.

I wish I could remember if I felt this way when I first started teaching. I mean, I had gone to school, finished multiple semesters of student teaching, knew where to go to find answers, etc… But in reality, doing “well” in that career was directly reflected in student test scores. I was only successful at my job if my students were successful in theirs.

And that was the kind of pressure I chose to walk away from.

So now? How do I determine “success?” For the last few months, I’ve been saying that life will be a success if it’s spent doing things that I value, that value me, and bring me joy. So I started volunteering more. I started doing my computer-based work while exploring different coffee shops. I made a point to be more active outside on a regular basis.

And along the way, I’m making childhood dreams come true by completing this first book in an upcoming series.

So I’ll keep fighting against Imposter Syndrome because “success” in my brain isn’t going to be defined by the number of books I sell or the reach of my social media accounts. I choose to continue letting it be defined by the way I spend my time and how I value my activities.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. ;)