Reinventing Perspectives
Today’s post is different from my usual ones. I had the honour of appearing as a guest on Priscilla Nyahwa-Shumba’s podcast, Reinventing Perspectives earlier this week. The episode is titled “Is Imposter Syndrome Getting In The Way of Your Purpose” and you can listen to it here or click on the recording below.
Priscilla’s mission statement for Reinventing Perspectives is to help entrepreneurs stay in faith and win at business and that is a statement that strongly resonates with me. Priscilla and I met through an online matching platform for podcast hosts and guests to collaborate with each other called Podmatch several months ago. We connected and found a common topic to talk about that we felt would richly benefit her audience. Priscilla is a great podcast host and she took a newbie guest such as myself under her wing and made the recording feel like a comfortable chat between two good friends.
I shared my journey as a solopreneur who started my business at the peak of the pandemic in this episode. The biggest lesson that I learnt from my journey is that being a perfectionist is actually holding me back from pursuing my dreams. The reality is that nothing in life needs to be perfect as we are all not perfect. I’ve learnt to see my journey as what it really is - a journey. Yes, I know what I want my destination to be but I also constantly remind myself to enjoy the journey and to learn and grow from it.
I also share my views on what imposter syndrome is and how to address these thoughts when they show up. To me, there are two facets to viewing imposter syndrome. Firstly, it is an inward reflection of my thoughts that I am not good enough. Secondly, I fear that others will find out I am not good enough.
The first step to overcome imposter syndrome thoughts is to acknowledge and recognise that you have these feelings and fears when they show up in your life. After that, adopt a helicopter view of the situation. Mentally float yourself up and look down at the situation for an objective evaluation of it.
Ask yourself:
“How true is this?” Consider the truth of your imposter syndrome thoughts.
If you are still convinced that your thoughts are true, ask yourself another question: “Is it true all the time?”
When you persist in this deeper way of thinking, you will realise that it is not true all the time. There are instances where you may lack confidence or that you are not skilled at a particular task. That is perfectly fine as we are all created to be different and do not have to be good in all things.
See it as an acceptance of yourself and learn from these experiences.
Priscilla and I ended the conversation with my sharing about my purpose in life and how I believe that people who are positively impacted in their lives will create a ripple effect that will continue to grow and benefit those around them. I hope that you will be encouraged by this podcast and be bold to pursue your dreams!
For those of you who are keen to work on their imposter syndrome thoughts and overcome the fears that are holding them back from living life fully, I would love to hear from you and let’s work together to create those positive ripples! Book an appointment with me now!
