Is Impostor Syndrome a Real Thing?

Many of you might have heard about the word ' Impostor Syndrome". If you haven't, that's even better! You don't need to know. In fact, you should try to avoid yourself being in that position by any means possible!

But, it's easier said than done. Right?

I've been going through something similar in recent times. Doubt, Lack of Motivation, Restlessness, all resulting in inconsistent and degrading lifestyle. Having a hard time finishing off the tasks and even procrastinating more than often.

I never took it seriously, the concept of imposture syndrome. I would simply ignore it as it's not something I'd come across. Little did I know.

Here's what was going inside my mind all the times:

• I'm not good enough.
• I've failed x number of times already
• I don't know 'x', 'y' or 'z' and I need to know it.
• Very common, comparing yourself to the success of others.
• Setting unrealistic goals just to satisfy your ego.
• Was it all luck for me?

Life is not always the way you want it to be. It is inevitably working on keeping itself together. You, rushing towards something is not always an option. Life will push you back to where you belong. Slow down, step back, and look around. There's a ray of hope pointing towards you. You just don't see it for yourself. You blindfold yourself in your own little world. You decide to look away. Away from the opportunity. Away from the motivation and enlightenment.

The more you get, the more you greed on it. There's no end to what you are capable of achieving. There's no end date of when should you have all of it. There's no deadline to be something or to achieve something. It is your own unique journey. Live it to the fullest and enjoy the process. The process is what matters the most. Stop being a perfectionist!

Rushing to achieve something is not always an option. Slow down. Think it through. Plan out your journey. Stick to the plan and convert it into your reality. The plan should be feasible enough to accomplish.

It's okay to fail. It's okay to feel like a failure! It's okay to feel like you know nothing. You can always learn, grow, and excel. Just like there's no deadline to achieve something, there's no start date as well to begin the journey. Start today! Take one step at a time and track your progress. Pen down your thoughts, process, plan, and progress. _ Visualizing the progress brings consistency _.

Don't get caught in the cycle of keeping track of your failures. Stop focusing on how many times it didn't work for you. Instead, focus on how many times it did. Remind yourself of all the risks you took, all the time you made an impact, all the times you did things the right way. Change the narrative.

Seeing other's progress and success is not demotivating or discouraging. It is in fact the most encouraging thing to push yourself. It only turns into demotivation when you start the _ comparison _. The moment you compare them with yourself is when you hit the plateau. It is so evil. You tend to oversee their effort and hard work, instead focus on their results with yours.

Takeaways

It's okay to start late.

It's okay to slow down. Move at your own pace!

It's okay to feel like a failure. Learn from it, don't get demotivated.

It's okay to fail over and over again. You at least learned 10 ways that didn't work for you. Discover the 11th that does.

It's okay to feel like this. The way I felt. We all are human beings in the end. Let your emotions out and face them. Burying down yourself and your emotion is not the solution to anything. Face it and come out even stronger.

Don't be afraid to show your scars. Stay true to who you are. You can beat it eventually!