Impostor Syndrome #sol19

Impostor syndrome.  Two little words.  Five syllables.  Sixteen letters.  That’s all.  So why do I sometimes allow these two little words to become dominant? 

I signed up for Teach Write’s Time to Write virtual writing workshop and we met for the first time last week.  It was during that workshop that I acknowledged the power of impostor syndrome.  I had danced around the idea that impostor syndrome was negatively affecting my writing life, but actually saying the words aloud was powerful.  I had a couple of professional pieces of writing that were stagnating in Google Drive.  Every time I opened one of the documents and tried to work on them, I questioned everything from my ideas to my word choices to the sources I’d cited.  I asked myself if anyone would really be interested in my thoughts on the subjects before closing the documents with frustration. 

Sharing my experience with impostor syndrome with Jennifer and the others in the workshop group was incredibly freeing.  I recognized that I had folks who understood exactly what I meant and who were ready to encourage me to cast out those thoughts of being an impostor and to put my words out there for others to read.  I’m not saying that I’ve completely eradicated all thoughts of impostor syndrome.  I’m sure that it will try to creep back in as I write.  But I know that I’m not alone as a writer and that feeling is priceless.