Inherent in the belief that people are going to figure out that you are actually a fraud, and really bad at something, is the implicit idea that all those other people are actually competent and good at stuff themselves.
Here’s the thing - most of them probably aren’t. The older I get (mid 40s now…) the more I realize that incompetence is far more widespread than I used to think it was.
This is not to give anyone an inflated idea of their own ability or intelligence, including myself! It’s just a reminder that, in most situations, the people whose judgment you are worried about are probably just as bad off as you are… and are probably worse!
There’s also the flip side of imposter syndrome.
Inherent in the belief that people are going to figure out that you are actually a fraud, and really bad at something, is the implicit idea that all those other people are actually competent and good at stuff themselves.
Here’s the thing - most of them probably aren’t. The older I get (mid 40s now…) the more I realize that incompetence is far more widespread than I used to think it was.
This is not to give anyone an inflated idea of their own ability or intelligence, including myself! It’s just a reminder that, in most situations, the people whose judgment you are worried about are probably just as bad off as you are… and are probably worse!
That’s basically how I got over the imposter syndrome.