

Impostor syndrome is some thing that creative people face a lot, though of course it is also present in a lot of other vocations and places as well. This can be caused by many different things. It can be that we feel we lack the education or experiences our peers have. Though, these days we also see this effect from social media, where we tend to see only the very best from everyone’s lives and work, which of course lead us to comparing ourselves, our skills and our lives with the perfect things we see online. But it also means that we while we see our own struggles, we don’t often see the struggles of others.
“Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle” is something that’s so important to remember whenever we feel behind or inadequate. Often times we forget that all the experiences, and skills we’ve acquired along the way help shape who we are and how we think. That means that while some might seem to be ahead of us, they might just have have gotten experiences and skills we need sooner, which takes absolutely nothing away from what we’ve achieved or where we are in our journey. Instead it’s more important to see what others have done what we’re dreaming to do, which means that is’s possible, and we can do it too, even if we might not be there right now.

Practicing, learning new things and having fun is often all part of improving at our chosen skill, whatever that may be. This is part of the hard work needed to keep improving and reaching our goals. Of course this doesn’t mean that we’ll magically love all the work we’re producing, or that all of it will be top notch. And that’s totally fine and normal. Everything we learn and experience will help us grow and improve our skills. It also takes time and patience, but it will all be wroth it in the end. We’ve got this. You’ve got this!

It often seems like we live in a day and age where hard work is what’s most important to our success. This kind of hustle culture means that people often sacrifice their time and their sleep in order to get ahead, as that’s what they’re taught will help them move forward. The thing is, rest and sleep is so vital to our well-being, but also our ability to process information, getting ideas and staying creative. It doesn’t mean that practice isn’t important, because it is, but not at the expense of your well-being and your health. So if you need to step back and have a break, do it!