My friend the Impostor Syndrome

Have you ever compared yourself to other designers / developers and felt like you’re nowhere in their league? Do you write code, but wouldn’t dare to call yourself a developer? Yes?! You're suffering from the Impostor Syndrome. Most of us do, but not many talk about it!

Photos by: Florian Ziegler, Unsplash, and myself

Blog post about talk >>

Transcript

1. My friend the
   Impostor Syndrome
   @SONJALEIX
   

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3. What am I doing here?
   

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4. Impostor Syndrome?
   What is the
   

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5. the discouraging,
   judgmental,
   and disabling
   voice in your head
   

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6. apply for that job.
   to
   You’re not good enough yet
   

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7. take on that project.
   You’re not good enough yet
   to
   

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8. speak at that conference.
   You’re not good enough yet
   to
   

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9. You don’t know enough yet.
   You only got that project
   because you were lucky.
   

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10. You will FAIL!
    

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11. I asked 12 well known experts 

    in the community if they experience
    the Impostor Syndrome.
    10 admitted they have it.
    

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12. “So much self-doubt. 

    Constant worry that I’m wrong
    and that I don’t have the chops. 

    That others have made 

    a mistake in trusting me.”
    HOW DO YOU EXPERIENCE THE IMPOSTOR SYNDROME?
    –A WORDPRESS CORE CONTRIBUTOR
    

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13. “I’m a faaaaake!
    Oh my god everyone 

    is more talented than I am!”
    WHAT DOES YOUR INNER CRITIC TELL YOU?
    –AN AUTOMATTICIAN
    

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14. The Impostor
    Syndrome is irrational.
    

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15. “I'm not qualified for that job I want to apply to.”
    “They will find out I’m a fake.”
    Do you have the Impostor Syndrome?
    “I cannot be a team lead, my 

    colleagues are all better than me.”
    “This job is too easy, I am clearly not getting it.”
    “They will fire me.”
    

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16. We don’t want to admit
    that we feel vulnerable.
    

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17. These 3 ways

    helped me overcome 

    my Impostor Syndrome
    3
    

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18. 1I found
    Community
    

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19. At corporate networking events 

    I felt completely out of place, 

    and nowhere in their league.
    

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20. The WordPress Community
    

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21. People helped each other.
    

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22. The WordPress community
    has become my group
    

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23. my tribe
    

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24. my family
    

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25. Are you involved in your local
    WordPress community?
    

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26. Local meetups are the
    cornerstone of our community.
    

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27. Join the community team at:
    make.wordpress.org
    Find a meetup near you:

    http://www.meetup.com/pro/wordpress
    

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28. 2I’m speaking
    to share with the community
    

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29. Have you ever considered 

    to speak at an event?
    

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30. I almost didn’t apply to speak.
    

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31. I’m not an expert in this.
    I will be exposed as a fraud.
    I’m not accomplished 

    enough yet.
    

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32. …waiting to crash
    and burn.
    

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33. Luckily I have amazing 

    people in my life, 

    who constantly encourage me 

    and lend their support.
    

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34. Listen to their praise!
    You do deserve it.
    

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35. Speaking at events helps me to
    dismantle the false statements 

    of the Impostor Syndrome.
    

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36. Did you ever 

    feel like it wasn’t

    good enough?
    

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37. It’s the way we measure
    ourselves subjectively.
    Don’t trust this feeling.
    

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38. Apply to speak
    at your next local meetup 

    or WordCamp.
    

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39. 3I started
    contributing
    

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40. What big contributions 

    can I make anyway?
    There are so many designers
    that are better than me.
    

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41. I simply didn’t feel 

    I was good enough yet

    to contribute.
    

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42. You compare your
    shortcomings to their biggest
    accomplishments.
    WHEN YOU COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS…
    

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43. Failure
    WE ARE SO AFRAID OF
    

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44. “Fail. Fail a lot.

    Failure is a gift.”
    –AARON JORBIN, WordPress core committer
    

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45. “I’m not afraid to fail. 

    Failure is part of learning. 

    Hopefully, I fail daily and
    learn from it, so I fail a little
    bit less next time.”
    –SAM SIDLER, Apollo Team Lead
    

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46. Then things shifted…
    

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47. Yes, my contributions are
    welcomed and valued.
    

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48. We need to stop comparing 

    ourselves to others!
    

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49. vs
    Star Trek
    Star Wars
    

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50. We all cook with water.
    

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51. What team should you
    contribute to?
    

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52. It’s a journey.
    but you’re not alone in this!
    

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53. Having joined the community, 

    speaking at events, and

    contributing helped me become

    friends with my Impostor Syndrome.
    

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54. Join me tomorrow
    for Contributor Day

    to start overcome 

    your Impostor Syndrome!
    

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55. SONJA LEIX
    DIGITAL STRATEGIST
    @SONJALEIX
    

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