Why do we, as entrepreneurs, feel like imposters to some extent? Why do other less... fitting ...individuals have confidence to spare? Is it just beginner's confidence or something more?
Imposter syndrome is "a psychological phenomenon that arises from an incorrect assessment of ones’ abilities compared to peers." - Alicia Liu
I love her definition and view because imposter syndrome is not just about confidence, it's the social environment in which you either add value to, or extract it from yourself.
Beginner's Confidence I don't even know if "Beginner's Confidence" is a term, but I'm using it anyway. Let's describe it as the initial stages of learning beyond the norm, in which one feeds their ego rooted in what is essentially one's status. We all know that person in our industry who just took that online workshop and think they're the expert now. I'm happy you're so confident, but even a formal education is NOT the end all be all. As we spoke about a couple weeks ago, knowing is not understanding.
These first phase learners are indeed practicing new skills, but there is so much beyond what they've learned that they still don't even know exists. They are ignorant of the extent of the rabbit hole of knowledge, but delight in the fact they know something. Keep going, we love you!
The More You Know
You're probably familiar with the idea that the more you know, the more you know you don't know. In other words, each time we learn something new it opens us up to seeing the next level of information in this massive tree branch diagram of learning. The more we learn & practice a skill, the more it becomes common or habitual. It begins to take less effort to recall, connect, or maintain. Soon it goes into auto-pilot mode and we think very little about the amount of resources that went into the whole process of learning and expressing these skills. There is a gap that happens when you disconnect from the journey and focus only on where you are or the outcome you want. This is where we start making inaccurate assessments of our abilities. Doesn't that sound like a lot of entrepreneurs?
Theory for Entrepreneurs
There are many entrepreneurs that feel like an imposter, but the real question is: why? Why is the number of entrepreneurs who suffer so high? I have a theory on that I'd love to get your feedback for. As mentioned in last week's article on why entrepreneurs crave learning, entrepreneurs tend to think outside the box and are more open to what I call web-thinking. We like to have thoughts and ideas grouped but open, so we can easily make connections and see patterns. We are curious and question how things are done. It's not limited to entrepreneurs, but there seems to be a greater number of them among us. Being in an environment that is not open to, or supportive of such forms of creative thinking starts our belief that we're not doing things correctly. We are constantly trying to learn & do everything on our own when we start out, that information overload hits us hard. We see how much we don't know and it feeds back into negative thoughts of self-worth & confidence.
With no supervisor/boss, and all too often no mentor, we forget our roots & our journey. How do we assess ourselves? I'm guessing you can think of a few ways.
Give Yourself Some Credit
Entrepreneurs are amazingly bright & creative individuals who don't give themselves enough credit for the effort they put into their journey & the value they bring to others. Next week let's chat about HOW to actually deal with imposter syndrome as a heart-centred entrepreneur. I'll definitely be reading more from Alicia Liu as quoted above, to see how her ideas fit in with mine. Why do YOU think entrepreneurs tend to be more susceptible to imposter syndrome? Use the hashtag #BEDMASlife on social media! Learn, Love, and keep your Momentum, Laura Lake <3
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