Who am I to start a business? Who am I to write a book? Who am I to have people listen to me? Who am I to think I can do this on my own? Do you see a pattern here? Besides these being incredibly negative and screaming a possible anxiety disorder diagnosis, these statements my friend are what we refer to as “Imposter Syndrome” and it’s a BITCH. Imposter syndrome happens to everyone and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Now, the severity will differ as well as how long someone ALLOWS the imposter syndrome to consume them. You read that correctly, how long someone ALLOWS the imposter syndrome and thoughts to consume them. Remember my blog about suffering being a choice? Allowing imposter syndrome to win is a fucking choice. Allowing your thoughts to convince you that you are not good enough is a choice. Challenging those thoughts like “nah bitch, I have a lot to offer and if not me then who the fuck else can offer what I have?” is also a choice. You guys have NO idea how many times I have allowed imposter syndrome to consume me and convince me I was not good enough or that I didn’t have what it takes. When I decided to launch my coaching business, I had contemplated it for over a year and convinced myself I wasn’t qualified. My $100,000 Masters Degree wasn’t enough in my mind, being a licensed professional counselor in the state of Wisconsin, wasn’t enough. I would have thoughts like “but I’m a therapist, not a coach, who’s gonna trust me to coach them?” Or “who the fuck is gonna pay me a huge lump sum of money out of their pocket as opposed to insurance like with work?” Each person I talked to said the same thing, “bitch you have a Masters Degree and shit ton of your own life experience, why wouldn’t people pay you?” I am a very obsessive thinker; I will convince myself of things that may or may not have happened or will happen for that matter.
For years, I thought figuring out every possible outcome to every possible scenario was the safe way to live my life. Ah, what in the ever-loving fuck was I thinking? I was inadvertently putting myself through so much damn stress trying to always be prepared and not allowing the universe to do its work. When I was working with my healer, we had a session about me starting my business and she said “write down your questions and we’ll talk about them” so I came prepared and she tore me apart LOL! In the best way though, she challenged me to change my perspective and to rephrase my questions. For example, one of my questions was “how do I figure out what I’m worth” to which she said “bitch you are priceless, you are offering a service and that is worth a lot.” I was like “well damn”! I was prepared to calculate a very specific amount based on my current job position, per session, per hour, you get the point. Instead I sat with myself and waited until I thought of a number that seemed fitting, and $666 came to me! If you know me, you get it. Bottom line is, don’t let the negative bitch in your head convince you that you aren’t good enough or that you can’t do it. YOU CAN DO IT and you have magic to share with the world. Whether that be to share stories on Instagram of your day to inspire other people, to start your own business, to quit your job to pursue a passion, WHAT-THE-FUCK-EVER! YOU ARE MAGIC, own that shit, embrace it, and USE IT!
Comments