I was just feeling "is my portfolio even worthy to share" before opening today's post. Thank you for reminding us we all feel that way and it's worth taking thw risk of sharing what we make at all stages.
Dear Danielle, deep breath; well,YES. I, like do many people, do still experience the presence of Imposter Syndrome. Recently, I read some wonderful words of wisdom reminding me/us that often, these Inner Voices are actually connected to a very primal aspect of Being meant to keep us 'safe'. I am not recalling who shared this gift perspective, but the gist is that when human kind was first evolving, danger was truly everywhere. The Unknown was truly fraught with scary, life-taking possibilities.
Now, we still have a part of our neurology that gets triggered by 'Unknown' and new scenario.
After reading about this, I have been able to soothed this voice if fear & doubt that still pops up occasionally. When my inner voices start streaming that I am am Imposter, I know it's just fear triggering the part of me that is Ancient and founded on a bygone reality. This perspective has connected me to the past and allows me to really FEEL the energetic threads that link us all. I am able to calm Imposter Syndrome this way.
We ARE all here to learn, grow, evolve. Imposter Syndrome can bring us humbled back to being reminded.
For me, a lack of confidence shows up as imposter syndrome. The woeful thoughts of not being good enough come into my brain. I am getting better at recognizing them quickly and examining them. By examining them I can decide if they are really true. We don't have to believe every thought that comes into our brains! I try to spend more time focusing on the positive. I like to go over past experiences when I was enough when I did the thing. I like to celebrate even the smallest of wins. I hope you find this helpful.
I don't let imposter syndrome stop me anymore because I have come to realize from other situations in my life - running a sensitive new age bookstore for 25 years where people expected you to be an expert in everything spiritual, and teaching workshops in educational and community settings - that if you pretend you know what you're doing most people assume that you do. So I'm totally still pretending to be an artist, but I don't worry about it because I fake it well, act confident, and people "buy" it. Also, I have reached the age where I no longer give a fuck.
Re Imposter Syndrome...it took me YEARS to get over it. Getting over the garbled mouth-feel of saying "artist" when someone asked what I do was the first -very hard- step. But when I was able to articulate it clearly? Most other folks bought it and I was off to the races.
What I DIDN'T anticipate was, after last Fall when I made the conscious decision not to sell or show my work any longer, all those feelings slammed right back up against me. Surely, I thought, selling is not the mark of an "artist"? ("Artist" maybe, but not "artist"). It seems in my brain, yep, it's a thing. So for now I just default to "I make Things". Not elegant but until I wrestle this old cow back to the ground, it's my go to. 🤷
I was just feeling "is my portfolio even worthy to share" before opening today's post. Thank you for reminding us we all feel that way and it's worth taking thw risk of sharing what we make at all stages.
Cheers!
YESSSSSSS
Dear Danielle, deep breath; well,YES. I, like do many people, do still experience the presence of Imposter Syndrome. Recently, I read some wonderful words of wisdom reminding me/us that often, these Inner Voices are actually connected to a very primal aspect of Being meant to keep us 'safe'. I am not recalling who shared this gift perspective, but the gist is that when human kind was first evolving, danger was truly everywhere. The Unknown was truly fraught with scary, life-taking possibilities.
Now, we still have a part of our neurology that gets triggered by 'Unknown' and new scenario.
After reading about this, I have been able to soothed this voice if fear & doubt that still pops up occasionally. When my inner voices start streaming that I am am Imposter, I know it's just fear triggering the part of me that is Ancient and founded on a bygone reality. This perspective has connected me to the past and allows me to really FEEL the energetic threads that link us all. I am able to calm Imposter Syndrome this way.
We ARE all here to learn, grow, evolve. Imposter Syndrome can bring us humbled back to being reminded.
oh my goodness, that is BEAUTIFUL and so comforting. thank you!
For me, a lack of confidence shows up as imposter syndrome. The woeful thoughts of not being good enough come into my brain. I am getting better at recognizing them quickly and examining them. By examining them I can decide if they are really true. We don't have to believe every thought that comes into our brains! I try to spend more time focusing on the positive. I like to go over past experiences when I was enough when I did the thing. I like to celebrate even the smallest of wins. I hope you find this helpful.
I don't let imposter syndrome stop me anymore because I have come to realize from other situations in my life - running a sensitive new age bookstore for 25 years where people expected you to be an expert in everything spiritual, and teaching workshops in educational and community settings - that if you pretend you know what you're doing most people assume that you do. So I'm totally still pretending to be an artist, but I don't worry about it because I fake it well, act confident, and people "buy" it. Also, I have reached the age where I no longer give a fuck.
Re Imposter Syndrome...it took me YEARS to get over it. Getting over the garbled mouth-feel of saying "artist" when someone asked what I do was the first -very hard- step. But when I was able to articulate it clearly? Most other folks bought it and I was off to the races.
What I DIDN'T anticipate was, after last Fall when I made the conscious decision not to sell or show my work any longer, all those feelings slammed right back up against me. Surely, I thought, selling is not the mark of an "artist"? ("Artist" maybe, but not "artist"). It seems in my brain, yep, it's a thing. So for now I just default to "I make Things". Not elegant but until I wrestle this old cow back to the ground, it's my go to. 🤷
This looks very RETRO, strong 1940s, definitely 1950s vibes. I saw a LOT of old TIME / LIFE magazines from that time period.