Imposter syndrome is a bitch.
No matter the level you’re playing at, if you take what you do seriously, you’re battling with it, every. single. day.
But there’s good news, and this is something I’m starting to understand lately…
Everybody is putting on an act in hopes that the audience buys it.
No one is born confident.
So we train for it.
And what does training mean? What should you train for?
I think it comes down to 2 simple things: technique and stamina.
Runners have to train for proper technique, but they also need the stamina to get them to their destination.
Writers need to know how to write, but they also need the energy and focus to keep the momentum going.
Technique is how you do it, stamina is if you’re able to do it and keep doing it.
When you trim confidence down to simply training your technique and stamina, it doesn’t look that unattainable, does it?
But I would argue there’s another, third aspect of confidence that ties everything together nicely.
Depth.
Going deep is what amateurs shy away from. It’s what pros embrace.
Want to truly be confident?
Then take both your technique and stamina to deeper levels.
In the “User illusion”, Tor Norretranders says:
“Making things look easy is hard. Clarity requires depth.”
It’s because to make things look easy, to appear confident, means that you’ve done all the work of discarding and selecting what matters. Which requires deep technique and deep stamina.
Learn more, focus more, keep going – and then dig deeper.
This is how you get confident.
P.S. I’m starting to work more 1 on 1 with some amazing folks. Some are UX or copy pros wanting to fill in their gaps, others are SaaS and Ecom business operators who need the outside perspective and specific skills. Others are freelancers who are just starting out. If you’re curious about it, learn more here or just hit reply here.
Quote and reflection of the day:
“We’re all putting on an act and hoping the audience buys it.”
– Scott Adams, Loserthink
True confidence is constant work with an uncertain payoff. You simply keep acting the part with the skills and knowledge you have at every moment. The only way to increase your odds of success is to always convince one person in your audience first, yourself.
