Hello Friends,
Greetings from an unusually wet and rainy Barcelona🌧️
🙌Many thanks for reading The Quest. A very special shoutout to Carla in Madrid, Khari in Vancouver, Connie in Toronto, Gillian in Kingston, Lux in New Jersey, Mamen in Barcelona, Chris in Brussels, Jen in Honolulu, Jessica in Ontario, Barry & Michaele in Bracebridge and Joan in Mansfield.
If you are joining for the first time, welcome to our exploration of creativity, facilitation, and learning.
You can catch up on the last edition ✍️Tips for filling your creative well and all past editions here.
As soon as I started leading the session it hit me.
I had been invited to lead an experiential workshop on facilitation at a big international conference.
I was staring out into a crowded room full of experts in learning.
Leaders of global organizations. The top thinkers on innovation in education. The leading lights in their fields. People who I admired.
So what was I doing there?
What expertise did I have to contribute? I didn’t have any peer-reviewed journal articles to my name. I hadn’t written the best-selling book on my subject area. In fact I hadn’t written any books at all.
As I stood in front of the group I had only one explanation.
The conference organizers must have invited me by mistake.
I wasn’t supposed to be there. And it was a matter of time before I was found out. I felt my anxiety level skyrocket. It didn’t help that I had helped myself to a few too many cups of reheated filtered coffee during the break. I started to shake.
I was still standing in front of the group.
Each second that passed felt like hours of painful awkward silence.
The invitation definitely had nothing to do with my experience.
Or the fact I had been working in the field of facilitation for a decade. It wasn’t because I led an organization that had a unique track record of putting academic research into practice.
In my mind, none of that mattered.
It wasn’t until several years later that I realized that the feeling I had of being a fraud had a name.
It’s called impostor syndrome.
It’s the feeling that you aren’t qualified for the work you are doing. That you may be revealed as a fraud at any moment. Even when there is objective evidence to the contrary.
It turns out that 70% of people experience impostor feelings at some point in their lives.
Famous actors get it. Accomplished writers get it.
And if you have ever led a group before you may know what it feels like. The problem is that it can prevent us from doing our best work.
So what can you do to overcome impostor syndrome?
That’s our Quest for this week 🔎
👉Learning to Deal with Impostor Syndrome
👉Henneke’s Why I feel Like a Fake
👉A Facilitator’s Guide for Overcoming Impostor Syndrome
Let’s dive right in!
☕Learning to Deal With the Impostor Syndrome
A thoughtful New York Times article from “Sketch Guy” Carl Richards. He includes some surprising anecdotes of unsuspecting impostor syndrome sufferers including beloved writer and poet Maya Angelou.
He shares 4 tips for overcoming impostor syndrome:
👉Understand what it is.
👉Understand that other people deal with it (including a lot of famous people).
👉Understand why we feel this way.
👉Learn how to live with it. He shares a story where Buddha invites his demon Mara for tea.
Read the full article 👉 here.
How do you deal with impostor syndrome?
😬Why I Feel Like a Fake
An enchanting article by Enchanting Marketing writer Henneke. She shares her own experience of Imposter Syndrome along with cool drawings that illustrate her point (as if her writing wasn’t good enough!).
Here are 3 pearls of wisdom for overcoming feeling like a fake:
- She developed a habit to write and published regularly. She didn’t worry if it was “good”. Show up
- She learned to accept her imperfections. She does some things well. Other things are a mess. Life is full of contradictions.
- She changed the stories she tells herself. She may not feel like a real writer, but she still posts a blog every week. Embrace life’s opportunities.
Read the full article👉 here.
🧨A Facilitator’s Guide to Overcoming Impostor Syndrome
Leading groups can be a minefield for doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud.
Here are 5 tips that have worked for me when I feel impostor syndrome starting to creep in. I’d love to hear your experiences and tips. Join the conversation by replying to this email or by adding your comments on Twitter👇
💌Thanks for reading The Quest
I always love hearing your feedback and suggestions. Just hit reply to share your thoughts and ideas. Visit my website for ways we can work together 👉 here.
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Creatively yours,
