Steemposter syndrome
As long as I can remember, I have always suffered from imposter syndrome, the feeling that I am just faking everything, and that all my success simply comes by luck, and sooner or later I will get caught out.
I have been a programmer for the past 17 years, I work for a major well known company, and I have worked in four different countries (so far), yet I still sometimes feel like I am far worse than the people I work with, and that they will notice it at any moment. This happens in absence of any evidence, and even when things are going well.
This does not stop at work. Even with my family, I feel like i am just pretending to be a good husband and father.
I sometimes feel like this on Steem. I often think that people will judge me for my postings, and notice that I am not a real writer (which I never claimed to be, nor do I really expect to be seen as one). With every post I think "is this the one where they will notice I have no idea what I am talking about?"
The rational part of my mind knows that all this is largely nonsense, but I still feel like an imposter.
Are there any other imposters here?
So many potential posts have been left to decay because I felt I would be judged and found lacking on them.
No matter how many compliments you get at work, you still feel inadequate, but so it goes.
At times I wish I had the self confidence of the follow for follow posters...
That is the kind of fake self confidence caused by the Dunning-Kruger effect. It's the same effect that causes your (and my) impostor syndrome. The better you get at something the more you realize you know nothing, and conversely, the less you know the more confident you are in your knowledge.
Don't get sucked in by the appeal of begging for follows. The only way to maintain a healthy community is not reward that kind of behavior, but reward actual content instead. Keep on posting, even if it's a bit outside your comfort zone. So what if a few of your posts don't get upvoted? Just be you.
I am not saying that posting such things is good in any way. I do not think that the confidence is fake, even if I do agree with the cause
No!
I despise that, I would rather want to post a thought provoking comment, and have a healthy discussion.
The follow for follow stuff is just the lowest common denominator and leads to yet another value (# followers) becoming useless when determining influence on a platform.
Sure many new users have 1000's of followers, but how much can the engage with those followers and get them to jump on board with an idea?
Don't mean to rant on your comment 😉
That is fine. I was talking about the confidence necessary to just post something that is such complete crap.
It is clear that somebody that pays something like that is not bothered by questioning the quality or the appropriateness of their party in the least. The very fact that they hit post proves that.
Hey Nenad, we just all fake it till we make it out here. Nobody really knows exactly what the hell they're doing. We just do it and hope it works.
Thanks for that
I know that feeling, and steemit was the first platform where I could get rid of it. But seems like with it's growth it comes back
I think that a big part of it is that as we learn something, we become more aware of how we can do better, and we notice our own mistakes and shortcomings, no matter how small
@nenad-ristic, I relate! I am at a point in life right now where I do not feel I have much to offer. So I have a decision to make. Stay paralyzed or move forward! Today I am choosing to move forward, even if it is just a small step and even if it is not the right step. I choose to take action. I hope you feel that you can do the same.
I am sure that you have a lot more to offer than you think! Sometimes even a small step forward is more than enough. Life is not a race!
Sometimes we fail to give ourselves the credit we deserve. If often face this issue, it's easier said than done but sometimes we should not compare and just feel at peace.
I agree 100%. Especially when the comparison is with an ideal that nobody else actually embodies
exactly, we fall into this trap just because everyone around us does it. but we just need to be the best version of ourselves, not what somebody expects us to be!
Yes! Wow....I have very similar feelings. Thank you for putting that into words. Discovering my self worth has been quite the process.
As far as I'm concerned I see no imposter within you. This post itself proves such! :)
Thank you for the kind words, and I am very happy that my writing resonates with you
People aren't here to read cold contemplated articles, but honest ones. I think that every user who ended up on this site, is actually fed up with the world in one way or another. You probably noticed how people really upvote true and frank stories, reflecting my claim. I'm new around, and already receiving good feedback. Why? They don't care about my shitty grammar. They do care about genuine thoughts and passion. They do love imperfection. Readers want to read article that you would write only for yourself, as if nobody would ever read it. Such articles radiate in a specific way, people identify with those easily, as they feel the same, more often than not. Don't worry, and just write as if you are having inner monologue before falling asleep. The moment you see this platform is not a ladder, but a circle, you will be able to project your vast experience to us, which is what steemit stands for. Nodoby cares who is better writer.Being brave to show imperfection outweights any style, grammar or knowledge gaps.
So, perfectionism is the true enemy?
Yes, just let it go. Article is not a program, it doesn't have to be perfect to compile. :) I guess your profession is holding you back.
I really like that! Brilliant way of thinking about it
Brilliant @alliesin! Well said.
In some settings I feel this way
Glad to hear I am not the only one
So what would you like to write about if you could write about anything? What would you say if you could say anything? What would you do if you could do anything?
Good questions all of them... First of all, think about it.