Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Thursday, October 14, 2021
Imposter Syndrome Gets a Bad Rap.
SoundGirls.org: We like to blame everything on that voice in our head telling us we’re not good enough.
But it hit me the other day that maybe we are so focused on ignoring any negative voices in our head that we are depriving ourselves of progress.
This is kind of a weird article. It seems like the entire point of the piece is “your entire brain isn’t impostor syndrome you can actually have multiple factors that influence your thoughts and feelings.” That seems obvious to me, but maybe I’m missing the point. Yes, if you experience impostor syndrome, it’s useful to interrogate that train of thought in order to get around your fears. And yes, you’re not automatically perfect and actual doubts, reservations, and concerns are things that exist and maybe you should listen to. This is nothing new, and some basic reasoning can filter these thoughts into the appropriate category. Impostor syndrome isn’t defined by doubting yourself, it’s defined by doubting yourself when you have no reason to. Otherwise, it’s just regular old doubt, which has long been evolution’s tool to tell us “hey, maybe you can’t kick that lion’s ass and you should stay in this tree so you don’t get eaten,” along with similarly valuable lessons.
I agree with parts of this article but I think that the main point this article is missing is that imposter syndrome sucks. Sometimes it is REALLY hard to get out of that hole when you are feeling like you don’t belong and simply changing the phrasing doesn’t work. I do think that overall imposter syndrome can push us to be better in the long run, but you have to acknowledge your own worth first which can take time. Imposter syndrome is also one of the situations where you can have a lot of progress and still fall back in. I think that what this article says about “depriving ourselves of progress” is incredibly true but the same can be said about people who don’t have imposter syndrome so the two are not mutually exclusive. Growth occurs every day whether you notice it or not, you don’t have to feel like you belong to grow while you are there. I would know, I have been here for seven weeks and imposter syndrome hits me every day but I have learned more in these seven weeks than I did in pretty much all of high school. Imposter syndrome is awful but it doesn’t completely stop your growth rather it simply stunts your awareness of it for a while.
This article sort of conflates Imposter Syndrome with all other feelings of fear of rejection, lack of confidence, self judgement, etc. But to me, Imposter Syndrome is specifically when you feel you are surrounded by talented people in your same workplace/school, and you are getting good feedback, but in your mind you believe you are not as good as people think you are. What the author describes in the beginning of the article doesn’t really seem like Imposter Syndrome, it just sounds like she got rejected from the jobs she wanted, and understandably lost confidence and motivation. However, I do agree with the overall message of the article, which is to not connect the things you want to improve on with yourself as a person. Just because you struggle with some things doesn’t mean the people around you are perfect and aren’t also struggling; we’re all just trying to do our best work.
I’m not entirely sure how to feel about this article; in my opinion, it sort of forces a strange positive perspective on imposter syndrome through a personal anecdote. I looked up the actual definition of imposter syndrome after reading the article (as a solid explanation was omitted from the entirety of the article itself) and found that a key factor of it includes the feelings of doubt and fear happening despite past experience and accomplishments. With Willard, she begins her story with the preface that this was going to be her first time pitching her music to professionals. The constant rejection following those initial pitches prompted her to experience high levels of self doubt and a new sense of creative fear. She then found the motivation to do some more research and learning regarding songwriting, which she reported to be helpful and credits it as a result of her inner positive voice. To me, it just sounded like Willard needed to reassess and improve her own skills and experience rather than entirely blaming it on imposter syndrome.
The title of the article is what drew me in, but I think it revealed more than just a defense of imposter syndrome. The creative process is so hard, especially when you don’t have an external person coaching or mentoring you. I think people fear creative block so much that it leads them right into that fear. This artist's story is a great example of how block can sometimes make your art better in the long run. But I think that it was extremely important that the author made a clear distinction between imposter syndrome and your own inner coaching and want for improvement. In turn, I believe that when you identify those imposter syndrome thoughts it's possible to be able to turn them into the examples of coach thoughts that the author suggested. I agree with the a lot that it is still very necessary to have that critical voice in our heads so that you are able to make progress in your art.
Why are all of these articles so out of touch? Like do they think people want to doubt themselves into a debilitating state? Also this headline is so weird, like just say you believe in yourself and don't use a double negative? These headlines really are just so misleading on where they're going on a topic. Like they're really trying to be understanding and help others but it just comes off so fake and as such bad advice. Of course we should listen to the part of us that wants us to be successful and build ourselves up but it never is just that east. When I think about how I got into a really great program like this one, I think about how much of a mistake it must have been for them to let me in, that's the imposter syndrome in me. I know I shouldn't listen to it, but that's not what they're talking about in this article.
This is the second article I have read from this site and I am not sure if I will be reading any more articles from them anymore. I certainly thought there would be more here but the second half of this article just drops the ball. I feel like if you are going to write an article about something that is so common amongst creative folk, then you should write something with more substance and steps on how to work with and handle imposter syndrome instead of just “listen to the other voice” because for some people that is not as cut and dry as it seems. It feels like half the article is missing or this was done at the very last minute. There might have been some valid arguments like the fact that you already did something or created something that go you to where you are now, but the small section that discusses that feels hollow and empty.
I kinda liked the “our coach will say” – right now I am learning new things that I have never seen before (as we all do in college) and I’m struggling with it. I’m stuck in a mindset of “I know what I’m good at just let me do that” and I haven’t been as open to learning new things that I can benefit from in the future. I don’t think I personally (at least currently) struggle with Imposter Syndrome but I do struggle with pushing myself to learning new things at a slower pace than others. Learning takes a long time for me and it can be hard to watch my peers learn it at a faster pace (like it just clicks for them) it takes me twice as long to learn something and I feel like I am behind until the last minute or don’t catch up because I spent my time being frustrated rather than just putting in the extra time in the first place. Just do the work! Rather than thinking about it or planning to do the work, just do it!! And stop comparing yourself to others, its just a nasty cycle that doesn't help you or anyone else.
AS someone that has dealt with imposter syndrome through a lot of my life, I think this article really misses the mark. As others have said, imposter syndrome is when you have feelings of doubt/fear you will be found out for a fraud despite accomplishments that are contrary to that feeling. Through their use of language, I feel that the author lacked the humility to admit they weren't experienced enough at the time (they did say had never pitched anything before). Imposter syndrome has it's place and I appreciate that they try to make it seem more positive, but really this article should have taken a different approach because the way it is written probably won't actually make someone that deals with imposter syndrome feel very validated. I think that someone suffering from imposter syndrome could use it to self-reflect and identify the gaps in their knowledge so that they feel more secure in their abilities. But the approach they used was more "just block out the criticism you or others may have and keep your chin up" and that's wholesome, sure, but not how we will progress in our skill level.
I have doubts. I'm sure you have doubts. I'm sure we all have doubts about ourselves, often well-founded ones. It isn't that I choose to listen to the impostor syndrome voice in my head, in fact, I really don't have that choice — it's an intrusive voice and I'm forced to endure it. I feel like this article was well-meaning, but it kind of boils down to "Just choose happiness!" narrative that can be very toxic with its positivity or choice of positivity. I think having a coach is good, but also recognize that sometimes, it's really damn hard to listen to Coach because that unfounded impostor voice is so strong. Again, conversely, it's not that I don't want to listen to Coach, but it's hard. It's really, really hard sometimes. I enjoy a degree of criticality to my work, but my brain doesn't control when I open that floodgate on myself.
This article feels like it was written with a clickbait title that had a good message forced in the middle. I don’t think that “imposter syndrome” gets a bad rap, I think that people need to learn exactly how to self-critique and improve without tying it directly to self-worth and personal ability. The “voice one” that the author describes is just a healthy way to work on your own art and drive yourself to become better at your chosen craft, which is so very different from impostor syndrome. A defining feature of impostor syndrome is feeling like you are inherently worse than everyone around you and you have done no work to deserve what you are getting back from the world, which is just self-destructive anxiety. While I think that making yourself re-frame the idea of self-improvement is really good, the entire basis of this article is muddled and detracts from that main point. I just feel like I got something good out of this article in spite of it, which isn’t great. :/
I think that the writer of this article has a good overall point about the need for personal improvement. However, if they are saying that there is another voice besides the “imposter” voice then that still leads to the point that Imposter Syndrome is not all that great. They are discussing an entirely different concept. There is something to be said about constructive criticism and anxiety that pushes us forward. We need that to have success in our lives. I think the difficult part is figuring out what is healthy and what is not, which I think takes an above average level of emotional intelligence. I guess one simple way to tell if it is the “coach” voice or the “imposter” voice is, honestly, if it is telling you to try harder or to quit. The imposter voice could also come in the form of trying to get you to push past your actual limits. I don’t have an answer for knowing when that is but the mind is a lot more complicated than what was discussed in simple terms in this article.
12 comments:
This is kind of a weird article. It seems like the entire point of the piece is “your entire brain isn’t impostor syndrome you can actually have multiple factors that influence your thoughts and feelings.” That seems obvious to me, but maybe I’m missing the point. Yes, if you experience impostor syndrome, it’s useful to interrogate that train of thought in order to get around your fears. And yes, you’re not automatically perfect and actual doubts, reservations, and concerns are things that exist and maybe you should listen to. This is nothing new, and some basic reasoning can filter these thoughts into the appropriate category. Impostor syndrome isn’t defined by doubting yourself, it’s defined by doubting yourself when you have no reason to. Otherwise, it’s just regular old doubt, which has long been evolution’s tool to tell us “hey, maybe you can’t kick that lion’s ass and you should stay in this tree so you don’t get eaten,” along with similarly valuable lessons.
I agree with parts of this article but I think that the main point this article is missing is that imposter syndrome sucks. Sometimes it is REALLY hard to get out of that hole when you are feeling like you don’t belong and simply changing the phrasing doesn’t work. I do think that overall imposter syndrome can push us to be better in the long run, but you have to acknowledge your own worth first which can take time. Imposter syndrome is also one of the situations where you can have a lot of progress and still fall back in. I think that what this article says about “depriving ourselves of progress” is incredibly true but the same can be said about people who don’t have imposter syndrome so the two are not mutually exclusive. Growth occurs every day whether you notice it or not, you don’t have to feel like you belong to grow while you are there. I would know, I have been here for seven weeks and imposter syndrome hits me every day but I have learned more in these seven weeks than I did in pretty much all of high school. Imposter syndrome is awful but it doesn’t completely stop your growth rather it simply stunts your awareness of it for a while.
This article sort of conflates Imposter Syndrome with all other feelings of fear of rejection, lack of confidence, self judgement, etc. But to me, Imposter Syndrome is specifically when you feel you are surrounded by talented people in your same workplace/school, and you are getting good feedback, but in your mind you believe you are not as good as people think you are. What the author describes in the beginning of the article doesn’t really seem like Imposter Syndrome, it just sounds like she got rejected from the jobs she wanted, and understandably lost confidence and motivation. However, I do agree with the overall message of the article, which is to not connect the things you want to improve on with yourself as a person. Just because you struggle with some things doesn’t mean the people around you are perfect and aren’t also struggling; we’re all just trying to do our best work.
I’m not entirely sure how to feel about this article; in my opinion, it sort of forces a strange positive perspective on imposter syndrome through a personal anecdote. I looked up the actual definition of imposter syndrome after reading the article (as a solid explanation was omitted from the entirety of the article itself) and found that a key factor of it includes the feelings of doubt and fear happening despite past experience and accomplishments. With Willard, she begins her story with the preface that this was going to be her first time pitching her music to professionals. The constant rejection following those initial pitches prompted her to experience high levels of self doubt and a new sense of creative fear. She then found the motivation to do some more research and learning regarding songwriting, which she reported to be helpful and credits it as a result of her inner positive voice. To me, it just sounded like Willard needed to reassess and improve her own skills and experience rather than entirely blaming it on imposter syndrome.
The title of the article is what drew me in, but I think it revealed more than just a defense of imposter syndrome. The creative process is so hard, especially when you don’t have an external person coaching or mentoring you. I think people fear creative block so much that it leads them right into that fear. This artist's story is a great example of how block can sometimes make your art better in the long run. But I think that it was extremely important that the author made a clear distinction between imposter syndrome and your own inner coaching and want for improvement. In turn, I believe that when you identify those imposter syndrome thoughts it's possible to be able to turn them into the examples of coach thoughts that the author suggested. I agree with the a lot that it is still very necessary to have that critical voice in our heads so that you are able to make progress in your art.
Why are all of these articles so out of touch? Like do they think people want to doubt themselves into a debilitating state? Also this headline is so weird, like just say you believe in yourself and don't use a double negative? These headlines really are just so misleading on where they're going on a topic. Like they're really trying to be understanding and help others but it just comes off so fake and as such bad advice. Of course we should listen to the part of us that wants us to be successful and build ourselves up but it never is just that east. When I think about how I got into a really great program like this one, I think about how much of a mistake it must have been for them to let me in, that's the imposter syndrome in me. I know I shouldn't listen to it, but that's not what they're talking about in this article.
This is the second article I have read from this site and I am not sure if I will be reading any more articles from them anymore. I certainly thought there would be more here but the second half of this article just drops the ball. I feel like if you are going to write an article about something that is so common amongst creative folk, then you should write something with more substance and steps on how to work with and handle imposter syndrome instead of just “listen to the other voice” because for some people that is not as cut and dry as it seems. It feels like half the article is missing or this was done at the very last minute. There might have been some valid arguments like the fact that you already did something or created something that go you to where you are now, but the small section that discusses that feels hollow and empty.
I kinda liked the “our coach will say” – right now I am learning new things that I have never seen before (as we all do in college) and I’m struggling with it. I’m stuck in a mindset of “I know what I’m good at just let me do that” and I haven’t been as open to learning new things that I can benefit from in the future. I don’t think I personally (at least currently) struggle with Imposter Syndrome but I do struggle with pushing myself to learning new things at a slower pace than others. Learning takes a long time for me and it can be hard to watch my peers learn it at a faster pace (like it just clicks for them) it takes me twice as long to learn something and I feel like I am behind until the last minute or don’t catch up because I spent my time being frustrated rather than just putting in the extra time in the first place. Just do the work! Rather than thinking about it or planning to do the work, just do it!! And stop comparing yourself to others, its just a nasty cycle that doesn't help you or anyone else.
AS someone that has dealt with imposter syndrome through a lot of my life, I think this article really misses the mark. As others have said, imposter syndrome is when you have feelings of doubt/fear you will be found out for a fraud despite accomplishments that are contrary to that feeling. Through their use of language, I feel that the author lacked the humility to admit they weren't experienced enough at the time (they did say had never pitched anything before). Imposter syndrome has it's place and I appreciate that they try to make it seem more positive, but really this article should have taken a different approach because the way it is written probably won't actually make someone that deals with imposter syndrome feel very validated. I think that someone suffering from imposter syndrome could use it to self-reflect and identify the gaps in their knowledge so that they feel more secure in their abilities. But the approach they used was more "just block out the criticism you or others may have and keep your chin up" and that's wholesome, sure, but not how we will progress in our skill level.
I have doubts. I'm sure you have doubts. I'm sure we all have doubts about ourselves, often well-founded ones. It isn't that I choose to listen to the impostor syndrome voice in my head, in fact, I really don't have that choice — it's an intrusive voice and I'm forced to endure it. I feel like this article was well-meaning, but it kind of boils down to "Just choose happiness!" narrative that can be very toxic with its positivity or choice of positivity. I think having a coach is good, but also recognize that sometimes, it's really damn hard to listen to Coach because that unfounded impostor voice is so strong. Again, conversely, it's not that I don't want to listen to Coach, but it's hard. It's really, really hard sometimes. I enjoy a degree of criticality to my work, but my brain doesn't control when I open that floodgate on myself.
This article feels like it was written with a clickbait title that had a good message forced in the middle. I don’t think that “imposter syndrome” gets a bad rap, I think that people need to learn exactly how to self-critique and improve without tying it directly to self-worth and personal ability. The “voice one” that the author describes is just a healthy way to work on your own art and drive yourself to become better at your chosen craft, which is so very different from impostor syndrome. A defining feature of impostor syndrome is feeling like you are inherently worse than everyone around you and you have done no work to deserve what you are getting back from the world, which is just self-destructive anxiety. While I think that making yourself re-frame the idea of self-improvement is really good, the entire basis of this article is muddled and detracts from that main point. I just feel like I got something good out of this article in spite of it, which isn’t great. :/
I think that the writer of this article has a good overall point about the need for personal improvement. However, if they are saying that there is another voice besides the “imposter” voice then that still leads to the point that Imposter Syndrome is not all that great. They are discussing an entirely different concept. There is something to be said about constructive criticism and anxiety that pushes us forward. We need that to have success in our lives. I think the difficult part is figuring out what is healthy and what is not, which I think takes an above average level of emotional intelligence. I guess one simple way to tell if it is the “coach” voice or the “imposter” voice is, honestly, if it is telling you to try harder or to quit. The imposter voice could also come in the form of trying to get you to push past your actual limits. I don’t have an answer for knowing when that is but the mind is a lot more complicated than what was discussed in simple terms in this article.
Post a Comment