Imposter syndrome sucks, and it frequently happens that when we do something new, we ask ourselves: "Am I the right person for this?" "Am I prepared enough?" "Will I be able to execute my job?" "Will people like me?"
Please wait until the end of the post since I'm going to share a personal story with tips to overcome imposter syndrome. But first, let's start with the basics.
❌ STOP comparing with others
It's common to compare ourselves with people who are already achieving what we dream about. Comparison can motivate us to be better, but it creates internal insecurities, envy, and frustration.
As an example: if I compare myself with the VP of Engineering at Uber, I'll probably be like, "I don't know anything at all about product management.". While I'm still learning and acquiring core knowledge, that's a very toxic and destructive attitude.
Instead, I always think positively: "I admire this guy, he inspires me so much" or "I am still early on in my career, and I'm not an expert, I still have lots of things to learn'. " As you can tell, I don't see people as competitors, rather than role models that I can learn from.
⚠️ Social media increases imposter syndrome
Social media is hurting us more than we think since we are always seeking validation and comparing ourselves with ideal lifestyles. We have the false idea that the more likes we get in a post, the more we feel we are successful or fulfilled in life. They are simply vanity metrics.
We have the false idea that the more likes we get in a post, the more we feel we are successful or fulfilled in life. They are simply vanity metrics.
Many people publish projects, do talks, write articles, share thoughtful quotes. Publishing content doesn't mean you are the best professional; neither not having a big community means you are not someone worth listening to.
There is not a straightforward solution to this problem, and it depends on your personality. Still, I've done several things that have helped me to improve on this:
- Change your mindset: The number of likes or followers doesn't mean that you are fantastic or successful.
- Deactivate non-critical notifications.
- Social media detox: Turn off your phone or put it in airplane mode as much as you can.
- Use an app to monitor your screen time, and set goals to spend less time on those platforms.
My personal story
For a very long time, I was panicking to become a product manager and do a career change from an engineering background. I knew I wanted to do it, but I thought I was not ready.
I started to talk with mentors and friends about that. It was clear to me that I had the right attitude and skillsets to make it happen (I've launched more than four side projects, researching about product, I'm customer-obsessed and love business, etc.
The story had a happy ending because I recently started my job as Growth Product manager at StreamYard. While I have so much to learn, I'm happy that I finally decided to beat my imposter syndrome and go all-in after a year.
If my story resonates with you, please send me a message on Twitter with your thoughts. If you have written a post, share it with me, and I'll add it here.
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