When Everyone Is Super an Impostor, No One Is

My first instinct is to talk about how it’s been a long time and I’m turning over a new leaf and I’ll be writing more. But you’re a human (presumably), you can read and see the difference in date. And you can probably deduce from that length of time that I’m unlikely to keep up blogging again, like I didn’t last time. So what’s changed? Why will this time be different?

It may not be, but I’ve changed. I’ve grown and thought a lot in the past two years. I’ve written most of a new novel in that time and I think about a number of things a bit differently than I did. The end result is that I actually feel like I have a lot of things to say, at the moment.

I’m also sick and tired of letting the intrusive voice of “impostor syndrome” win the day and shut me up before I even say anything. I’ve spoken with a lot of people and realized that either just about everyone I know also suffers from “impostor syndrome,” or just about everyone I know is lying to me. As I’m not the person to come up with the term “impostor syndrome” for the feeling of inadequacy in the field of my expertise, I choose to believe that many, maybe even a majority of people suffer from it. So why should I let it hold me back. Sure, my writing and thoughts may not be the best or clearest, but I won’t learn without practice, and if I wait until I don’t feel like an impostor then I might as well just give up.

So, I’m going to push ahead despite. Because if everyone is an impostor, then maybe I’m not.