We Are Not Imposters
There is a term you may or may not have heard and it is called imposter syndrome, and how you overcome it is what we will talk about today. Do you listen to that little voice inside your head that says, they will find out that you have no idea what you are doing? Have you allowed that voice to stop you from trying something new or working on your creations? These thoughts and more cross my mind every time I sit down and being to write something or record a podcast or try to do a new type of project.
What I do to Overcome Imposter Syndrome
- Solicit feedback from a mentor or your audience
- Review and remind yourself of your body of work
- Think about the path you have taken
- Learn about imposter Syndrome and ways you can fight it
Links To Articles on How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome
Reaching Out
To reach out to me, email timothy@createartpodcast.com I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.
- Email: timothy@createartpodcast.com
- YouTube Channel: Create Art Podcast YT Channel
- IG: @createartpodcast
- Twitter: @createartpod
Transcript of the Show
Introduction to Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Create art podcasts, commentary overcoming imposter syndrome. Hello friend. This is Timothy Kimo. Brian, your head instigator for create art podcast where I use my 20 plus years of experience in creating art and teaching others. Do you listen to that little voice inside your head that says they will find out that you have no idea what you're doing.
Have you allowed that voice to stop you from trying something new or working on your creations? Has it crossed your mind that you were too late to be a creator and that you are too far behind the time? Well, these thoughts and more cross my mind. Every time I sit down and begin to write something or report or record a podcast or try a new type of project.
Now, if you've been following me for any amount of time, you'd know that these voices don't always stop me. And today I'm going to help you not be stopped by these ideas that come into our head from time to time. Now there's a term you may or may not have heard and it's called imposter syndrome and how you overcome it is what we're going to talk about today.
Ways I fight Imposter Syndrome
I'd like to make a distinction before I get too far into this episode, and that is the inner critic versus imposter since. Now the inner critic for me is useful. It helps me make better work. It pushes me to do better and points out my mistakes. It can be harsh, but I don't let it stop me from doing the work.
Now, imposter syndrome is a little bit more outward focused. The thought of my audience or colleagues will figure out that I'm a fraud that I don't really know what I'm talking about. The common denominator for this is that you are concerned about others, opinions of your work. Now, here's the thing you can't control.
What other people think about your work, but there are things you can do to silence that voice and make the voices in your head more beneficial and help you to create better work. The first thing I suggest is to solicit feedback from your audience or a trusted. Now you may need to pay for that feedback because you're utilizing someone else's time and knowledge and more than likely by paying for that advice, it will be more unbiased.
Now in the past, I've hired someone to review my work and give me input on how to make it better. You can see that through my body of work that my podcast have gone through and they've become a higher quality than when I first started in 2006. Now I look at this as investing in my art by getting the feedback to improve, which is something that we should all be trying to do.
Now, something else you can do when these voices start to bombard you. Is to take a look at your body of work with fresh eyes. When we, when you see what you have, that you have a large body of work, then you have ammunition that you need to silence those thoughts of inadequacy. When I think of all the episodes I have done since 2016, the number is staggering for me.
Now I've started four podcasts and have participated in numerous podcasts as a guest. If I count up all the episodes, I'm well over 300 now, most people don't get past a hundred episodes. And quite frankly, most people really don't get past episode seven or 10. Now, obviously I've outpaced that while being a husband, a father, and working a full-time job, not too shabby.
And it's a point of pride for me when those voices and or my head, that's usually my first way to silence my inner imposter. I reasoned to myself that if I was a phony, I would have stopped doing this a long time ago. Now, while you're looking at your body of work, think about the classes you have taken or the knowledge you have gained from the first time you tried your practice.
Until today for me, I attended a local meetup on podcasting for about three years every month. And that was run by my good friend and partner at gaggle pod, Kyle, by. Now I've also attended podcasts and conferences in DC and New Jersey, as well as speaking at those conferences before the pandemic. I remember I was speaking in Atlantic city, New Jersey for indie pod con, and I actually had a flare up related to my AMS.
And I couldn't read my notes for the presentation when I got done, because I did finish. Hey, the show must go on. I had a few people walk up to me and let me know that I did a great job. And then when I told them what happened, they couldn't tell that anything was wrong.
The networking I've done in those situations has been priceless. And these people I'm sure would have taken me aside if they thought I was faking it and had to talk about. While the pandemic was going on. I did what most people did. I attended these conferences online. Again, I learned a great deal of knowledge and networked with a number of people.
Now, if that was a fake, you would think at least one person out of all those people would have said something to me.
The last tactic I would say to employ is learning about what imposter syndrome is and how to fight. Much like you're doing right now at the conferences I've attended. And many of the books I've read, I'm able to recognize when these thoughts enter my head. And I realized that many artists suffer from this issue.
Basically you are already taking the first step in battling imposter syndrome. So congrats to you. If you understand it. About different ways to cope with it. You will be able to push through those times. You may need to take a break from your art for a short time. Hey, you're the boss in this endeavor. So make sure you are getting enough rest and go out and be inspired by other forms of.
Also, it helps to talk with other artists that are maybe a notch above where you are and ask how they deal with imposter syndrome. You know, you would be surprised that the people that you admire are actually a human being and they have weaknesses that you may not, you may not see, and that should inspire you on your job.
You can also talk with a therapist on this topic as well. It could be something more deep seated that needs attention and treatment. The big point here is this don't go it alone, grab ideas and try them out. Treat the art world like a buffet and take what works for you. And you can always reach out to me@timothyatcreateartpodcast.com and be you I'll be happy to help you out on your journey.
Articles Discussing Imposter Syndrome
So you've heard what I do. Let's look at what other people with impaired loads let's look at, what other people do with imposter saying. On the website, culture partnerships. It's an article titled imposter syndrome, what it is and how can creative people overcome it? The author discusses the typical definition of imposter syndrome and it looks at possible causes.
Looking at the possible causes. The author refers to an article on imposter syndrome from a psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. Basically the psychologist posits that there are two family models that may lead to. One is where the, uh, parents treat their children differently and label them. And the second model is where the parents idolized their children or idealized their children.
Actually. Now, as a parent of twins, this strikes me close to my heart. And as their research, this topic for the episode and found this, I thought back to how I've been parenting my kids and. At that time, a bit of imposter syndrome decided it would be a good time to pop out and hit me. So it's not just having it as an artist, but also as a parent, you know, I tell myself and my spouse tells me that I'm doing a good job and I know I'm doing the best that I can with the information at hand.
All right, woof. Okay. Onto the rest of the article. The other idea that really intrigued me was the idea that imposter syndrome may be good for us. Right? I know I was confused as you are, but the way they're looking at imposter syndrome is using it to your benefit. The three ideas that they presented here is the first one.
It shows that you're challenging yourself. Now I've always been a proponent of trying new things and getting out of your comfort zone in order to show your art. So I can agree with this. Number two, you keeps your ego in check. And I agree to this to a point, but if you're susceptible to self-sabotage, this can easily stop you in your tracks.
Third point, it shows that you're gaining experience and they refer to a quote from Aristotle where he says the more, you know, the more you don't know. Now I discovered this in college. When I was, when I asked a professor, I don't know what I don't know. So how can you, how can I ask you questions about the unknown?
I'm still waiting for the answer and I'm still paying on my student loans. Now, as we progress through our practice, we will come upon new things that are outside our experience or knowledge. And that's okay. You were experiencing the unknown and it may be just a reaction to it. Recognize that and move on.
The next article I researched was, uh, by artwork archive and it was entitled eight ways to overcome imposter syndrome as an artist. Now, the first point they bring up is recognizing your negative thoughts and changing them. When we know we are in the grips of these thoughts, then we can start to get out of the fog that it causes and get back to our creative lives.
The second point is to become a risk taker. If that is something you, you know, if that's something you're known for doing, then it's going to help you battling these thoughts of inadequacy. When we take risks, we don't always hit a home run and Hey, that's okay. Look at, you know, major league baseball. No one has a, a, a thousand, uh, batting average.
There they're happy if they get three out of 10, at least we are trying. And that's the important thing. The third point is, you know, to keep eight bragged bag. Now I've heard many podcasters have a file on their computer that has the emails of folks that have written to them to let them know the great work that they have done and how they helped them out.
If someone has paid you a compliment, make sure you keep it and refer to it as. Also bonus points, make sure you reach out to artists, you respect and admire and let them know what they have done for you. Just putting it out there. You can always shoot me an email Timothy yet create art podcast.com.
That's a great place to start. Number four is, um, if you can't trust yourself, then go ahead and trust somebody else for awhile. You know, we are not unbiased about our work. So let's to somebody who is, whether it's a mentor therapist or coach ask for feedback and act on that feedback. You know, I've had many times, many times people at poetry readings come up to me and say that they're stuck or their stuff is awful and I'll give them my honest opinion.
And then I'll give them some advice on how I got better and continue to get better. The fifth point is to treat yourself like your best friend. Would you let anyone talk to your best friend the way your brain talks to you? Sometimes? Well, as I tell people, you are the one that has to sleep with you every night.
So treat yourself better. Point six is to get more comfortable sharing your work publicly. You need to develop a thick skin, realize that your work is not for everyone. And here's the tricky part. You have to be okay with. If you don't put yourself out there, no one will know what you're doing. Even if that just means doing things online, put it out there.
The act of putting it out there is a brave act. The seventh point is to mentor someone in your area of expertise, just the act of doing that will help you deal with your struggles and maybe the person that you're mentoring. Has a trick that you need to overcome your imposter syndrome. The last point is to find value in what is different.
Now don't try to compare yourself to other artists because everyone has their own path. Instead of struggles, to deal with, look at their works, be inspired by their story, but realize the artist you admire has their own path and your path is just as valid.
Final Thoughts on Imposter Syndrome and Closing
Well, I hope you got something great out of this podcast. One of the reasons I do these types of episodes is so that I can remind myself of these things of what I've learned. Yup. I too suffer from imposter syndrome from time to time, but I don't let it stop me and I don't want it to stop. If you find value in this episode or this podcast, please share it with a friend.
Reach out to me again. It's at Timothy and create art podcast.com. I'd love to know what you're doing to overcome imposter syndrome. And Hey, I'd love to have you on the show to talk about your artistic journey. So until next time, go ahead and team that inner critic create more than you consume. Overcome that imposter syndrome.
And go make art for somebody you love yourself.