Here's how you can conquer imposter syndrome and boost your confidence as a self-employed professional.

I'm supposed to be contributing this to showcase my knowledge on content creation. This isn't relevant to content creation. But here's my thoughts. Imposter syndrome is what keeps you sharp. It's just one of your internal board of directors team. Imposter syndrome is the chap who keeps whispering you're not good enough. The outcome? You perform at your best to prove him wrong Reframe your imposter syndrome. Own it.

Being self-employed already makes you amazing. People talk about starting a business, most don't. Having coached entrepreneurs for 17 years, one thing most don't do enough is acknowledge their accomplishments. Instead they spend time acknowledging what they didn't succeed at. I recommend creating a Brag Book, a place where you can write down DAILY the things that you did achieve, the compliments or praise you've received. Next, review your Brag Book daily until that feeling of not being good enough starts to dissipate. There's lots of things you can do to conquer imposter syndrome but remember this, you are here, on this Earth, to honor your purpose. If the idea of your business lights you up, you're on the right path. Focus on THAT??

It's time to normalize the experience of fear, anxiety, or discomfort in self-employment. It's not necessarily a sign that we're doing something wrong, just that we're doing something outside of our comfort zone. The mind's priority is keeping us safe - it's how we've survived as a species - and will do what it has to do to ensure we're not vulnerable, including flooding us with thoughts of not being good enough, doubting ourselves, and fearing rejection. The next time you experience self-doubt or fear, stop and check in with yourself. Is this a time where you need to play it safe? If so, then honor that. If not, then thank your mind for looking out for you, then decide to prioritize visibiity over vulnerability. You got this!

I do think it is great to have huge and grand overall dreams and ambitions because those conservative motivation, but I do agree it is helpful to break that big dream into smaller more manageable realistic chunks. If all we focus on is the huge final destination we want to reach it can become hard to figure out what micro step we need to do today to get closer. We also often overestimate what we can do in one year but underestimate what we can do in five or 10. It’s tough because you never see huge progress on any one day but then as you look back over a longer period of time it can be amazing how much all of the actions have added up overtime!

Its a knowing game, getting yourself into the wind field of creating something big and believing that you are an idea, and your services matter to the marketplace. When your vision is clear in your brain everything falls into place.

When you find the idea - you eventually start attracting your niche. You create your community by your say. In the feed of Gen-Z be the blessing where your mindset adds value to someone's life. What is there to live for if you are serving with purpose?

We have a network of neurons in our brains called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) and it's job is to serve us in what we choose to focus on. It does this by filtering out what is deemed unnecessary information. So when you feel as though you are not good enough to do something the RAS will filter out things which contradict this. Are you going to let a bunch of neurons decide whether you can do something? Or are you the driver?

Always be learning! In this day and age we have very easy access to pretty much the entire width of all human knowledge. Even though your path is unique, they are undoubtedly are people who have done something similar who you could learn from. Learn from what other people have done as opposed to just trying to figure it all out on your own. It’s a shortcut to success if you can avoid making mistakes yourself because you can learn from the mistakes of others. Have the humble mindset that everyone has something they could teach you. Plus the world is changing so fast nowadays that you do not want to become out of date or stuck in your ways!

Pick something that you know for a fact that you can't do; like for example write a blog post. Now, what would you do if you had never written a blog before but had to do it? Go do that and write one. Now I imagine it at least resembles a blog post, does it not? So my question is, are you capable, do you think..?

We are not perfect, or often even very good, at things that we are doing for the very first time. When we are young kids we are so much more comfortable with the inevitable failures that come from trying new things, but when we are adults we become so averse to that because we are afraid of what people will think about us if they see us fail and make mistakes. That is the spotlight effect; no one is thinking about you as much as you think they are. You can’t get better at things unless you are willing to try new tactics, which will inevitably lead to mistakes. Failure is a part of anyone’s journey to growing a skill or chasing a goal.

Fail it till you make it. You won't learn nearly as much from success as you do from failure. If John McEnroe had learned why he was making mistakes in tennis rather than getting angry at them, how might his career have turned out do you think?

I like the advice to not just see the positive outcome in your mind but to also imagine the emotions and feelings that will come from your success. Think about the joy, relief, or gratitude that you will feel from reaching your goals. I think that makes the visualization much more powerful because you are engaging more than just picturing it in your head. Visualization is not enough on its own, you will still need to take massive action over a prolonged period of time. But visualization is definitely helpful because it can help your brain to better look for opportunities that could help make your vision a reality

Day after day the donkey and the farmer worked their fields, collecting their hay. The farmer would dangle the carrot, and the stick, so the donkey would see them, and when the donkey had reached the end of its effort the farmer would reward him with a tasty carrot. Go find your carrot

Although there are numerous programs and 'mindset-changing' advice going around (they work for some, not so much for others), I think it's also important to let some people know that sometimes it's not about fixing yourself and how you approach the situation. Acknowledging that maybe it's systematic racism, sexism, classism, or other biases, and that perhaps investing your time and effort in creating better environments that do not breed this culture may rest your woes and ease anxiety in the subject. Impostor syndrome as we know it today mainly blames the individual and not the system. Perhaps if we fix the places where people work, instead of fixing those at work, we can work towards a two-pronged solution to a better future for everyone.

@tara spot on! addressing imposter syndrome involves a fundamental shift in how we perceive success and failure. We must create environments that encourage individuality and autonomy. By giving people the freedom to explore their unique strengths and passions, we help them find their true calling and reduce the fear of judgment. Adopting a long-term perspective is crucial. Mastery and success are marathons, not sprints. By appreciating incremental progress and celebrating small wins, we alleviate the pressure of immediate perfection and foster sustainable growth.