Damnit, YOU ARE the expert!!
Okay… You see that guy??? He’s pointing at you! I’ve got something to tell you, and I REALLY want you to LISTEN! Not just hear, but actually pay attention, and take it into your heart.
You know, we all have someone that just seems to throw things our way that are exactly what we need to be reminded of from time to time. For me, one of those people is Chris Heitmann, someone I am truly blessed to be able to count as a friend. Recently, Chris sent an article over my way, about how to Steal like an Artist.
As I read through the article, it reminded me of a point very near and dear to my heart:
“There’s this very real thing that runs rampant in educated people. It’s called imposter syndrome. The clinical definition is a “psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments.” It means that you feel like a phony, like you’re just winging it, that you really don’t have any idea what you’re doing.
Guess what?
None of us do.”
I often think back to an experience when I was 18 years old. I started at Unisys, fixing computers. My first day on the job I tagged along with Larry, the gentleman who was training me. We went up to work on a broken monitor. As I bent to pull the screws out of the back of it, I noticed a large sticker on the back that stated “Only to be opened by qualified technicians.” I pointed this out with some concern to Larry. He chuckled and responded, “Ya that’s us.”
Of course what Larry really meant was “Suck it up. You can do it, or we wouldn’t have hired you for the job. You can do this.” And I did.
I often think back to that day. I am shocked at the number of times in my career when I have worked alongside people who are truly AMAZING at what they do, but they can’t see it. To them, they’re just barely getting by… They feel like their “winging it” if not faking it. They just don’t see that they really are one of the best mixes of the skills that they have that can be found on the planet.
Don’t be fooled by the swagger of so many other people out there. This problem with self-doubt is extremely common. People think they aren’t as good as they are. People think that other companies all have their shit together… that this company is the only one that has real problems to deal with.
Take an objective step back my friend… odds are that you kick some serious ass at what you do, not to mention that everyone else has holes in their game that you are not always being objective enough to see.
For some reason lately I had lost sight of this a bit. I have been beating myself up internally over challenges that I have in my personality. But guess what, those aren’t new challenges. I have always had them before, and I just worked on them. I didn’t let it make me feel like a failure… just like someone who needed to keep improving. But also someone who is damn good at a lot of things. A person who can add value where many others might stumble.
YOU ARE the expert. I’m not trying to blow smoke here… just asking you to be objective, pull your head out of the sand, and see how good you really are. The world around you is not made of superheroes. Everyone has short comings.
