Imposter Alert!

Have you ever doubted your abilities, feared you were going to be discovered as a “fraud”?

Whenever I get negative feedback from someone I feel like an imposter. I ask myself am I fit for this job?

And whenever I get an award, I get a feeling that do I actually deserve it?

Ever had similar thoughts? Actually, this is a very common phenomenon called Imposter syndrome.

Even after writing eleven books and winning several prestigious awards, Maya Angelou couldn’t escape the nagging doubt that she hadn’t really earned her accomplishments.

Albert Einstein experienced something similar: he described himself as an “involuntary swindler” whose work didn’t deserve as much attention as it had received.

Watch his video to know more about imposter syndrome and how can you combat it.

Now, Once we understand and agree we think about these things. There are ways to use it to our advantage.

Listen to this awesome talk by Mike Cannon-Brookes on how to use imposter syndrome to your advantage

Mike is the CEO of Atlassian, a multinational enterprise software company.

My imposter Story

I am not a Professional Designer, I did not study for it.

In Bhumi, I started doing posters because I wanted volunteers for a project which I was leading at that time. There was an employee back then called Ben Vijayakumar, He introduced me to the Canva tool. and that’s how I started designing. The Designs were not that great, but it was better than nothing. I was worried people would criticize my designs which they did, But I kept going. Since I was scared of criticism I wanted to get better. I wanted to learn how to photoshop and illustrator. I did not have internet back then at home. So I used to sit and download tutorials at the Bhumi office and go home and learn at night.

Total I manage and co-lead the National design team for Bhumi.

Some impactful feedback I received for design when I started

I don’t like it.

We will keep this as a backup.

Can we get a paid professional to get this done?

Feedback / Fear of falling back pushed me to learn and grow more.

References: Ted