Let’s talk about Imposter Syndrome, shall we?
I say this knowing that, to be honest, even talking about Impostor Syndrome triggers feelings of Impostor Syndrome in every fiber of my being.
“Ugh Keri, you have to be important enough to not feel worthy enough of not feeling worthy and important, and you aren’t so just stop.”
So yeah.
It can be tough to combat that feeling of fakeness if you can’t understand that you are even in the place you would need to be in order to be faking something.
(Wait, What? Are we in a Friends episode Right now?)
But here we are. Here I am. I have felt it SO much in all aspects of my life recently. I feel it here, with my content and it makes me think “you are not a real-enough writer and people don’t care, so just stop embarrassing yourself.” (Clearly this voice wins in stops and starts.)
It creeps into my family life — when it takes me 3 days to reach out to Jr’s school administration to voice concerns because “they know what they are doing and you are just going to look like that dumbass mom who is up everyone’s butt about everything, Keri.” It whispers in my ear every time I make a choice that is different than other parents, every time Jr says “all the other kids get to do ___________.”
When I make choices about my family finances or food or fun or ANYTHING, there is the quiet echo of “who made you boss? What do you know?”
Don’t even get me started about the professional life stuff – eight years into the process of growing an amazing team , and a few months into a new promotion, AND hot off a review that included lots of amazing and constructive feedback from colleagues, there is still that voice that says “WHO are they talking about!? It can’t be you. You can’t make these decisions, you can’t lead a team like they say, tomorrow you will surely show your entire shitty hand and it will all go to pot.”
Here’s the thing. Magical thinking is awesome in books and movies. But in 2020 I made it my goal to combat all kinds of untruths with facts. With the knowledge that others already come to me and I DO these things every day. I make these decisions. I know what my kid needs. I built this team from one person (me) to a whole big-ass team.
And whatever I write, even in the times when someone isn’t paying me, makes me a writer.
They don’t know that I know that they know, but I know….
I got this.
Reluctantly Suburban 