On Imposter Syndrome
We’ve all been there: you’re about to start a new project, write a song, or launch a business, and that familiar voice creeps in.
“Who am I to do this?”
“I haven’t experienced enough to have something to say.”
“I’m just a fraud.”
Sounds a lot like imposter syndrome, right?
But typically, imposter syndrome is the fear of being exposed as a fraud despite evidence of success. It happens after you’ve achieved something.
This post is about a different type that strikes earlier, when you’re in the middle of creating, or even just thinking about it.
The core of the “Good Company” mental model is simple: when you feel self-doubt, treat it as evidence that you care and that your creative taste is alive.
Musician Fred again notes that he has never worked with a great musician who wasn’t “constantly afflicted” by these same feelings.
“Every musician you’ve ever loved, every album you’ve ever adored, every song you’ve ever loved has been the product of this feeling. I’ve never worked with a great musician who isn’t constantly afflicted by this. The feelings you’re having, you’re in great company.” - Fred Again
The Exercise
When self-doubt feels crippling, try this mental exercise: Imagine you are walking into a quiet, old library. In that room are your heroes—the people you consider the absolute best in your field. If you’re a writer, maybe it’s Ernest Hemingway or JK Rowling; if you’re an athlete, it’s Michael Jordan; if you’re a musician, it’s Fred again.
Now, imagine you’re chatting with them about the work at hand. You’re working on it together. Imagine they are asking the same questions you are. They aren’t superhuman; they are people who felt the same vulnerability and chose to do the work anyway.
The Myth of “Suffering Enough”
One common trap of imposter syndrome is the belief that we haven’t earned the right to speak or create because we haven’t “suffered enough”. Fred again describes how he struggled with this, feeling he couldn’t write about powerful emotions without a tragic backstory.
Eventually, he did suffer. And afterwards, he realized he didn’t need to. He was just as entitled to write about his experiences before he suffered as he was after. You don’t need a specific “origin story” to express powerful emotions in your work.
As Steve Jobs famously pointed out,
“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use.”
Life isn’t just this box you live inside of, but something you can shape and mold. You have the power to poke life and see what pops out the other side.
The Real Enemy - Inaction
The only truly “bad” outcome of self-doubt and imposter syndrome is inaction. The feeling itself isn’t the problem; the problem is when that feeling stops you from taking action.
The fact that you are worried about the quality of your work is proof that you are sensitive to your craft and that you care deeply about what you put out into the world.
The next time you feel like an imposter, don’t bash into the walls of your own doubt. Instead, remember the library. Remember that you’re in Good Company. Take a seat next to your heroes, acknowledge the shared fear, and keep creating.
- Dante
Here is the video that inspired this post:
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