We all deal with experiencing imposter syndrome from time to time in the music industry but how do we overcome it?

LIST YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS

WRITE THINGS YOU HAVE ACHIEVED IN THE PAST, WAYS YOU OVERCAME PAST STRUGGLES, AND ANY NEW ACCOMPLISHMENTS THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.

SET REALISTIC GOALS 

DIVIDE A LONG TERM GOAL INTO SHORT TERM GOALS. START WITH SOMETHING SMALL AND REALISTIC AND BE PROUD OF THAT ACHIEVEMENT. 

STOP COMPARING!

REMIND YOURSELF THAT WHAT YOU FEEL “INSIDE” CAN’T BE COMPARED TO ANOTHER PERSON’S “OUTSIDE”. YOU ARE UNIQUE AND SO ARE THEY. 

BREAK THE SILENCE

SHAME CAN KEEP PEOPLE FROM OPENING UP. KNOWING THERE’S A NAME FOR THESE FEELINGS AND THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE CAN BE FREEING.  

PRACTICE “JUST-IN-TIME” LEARNING

EXPERIMENT NOT OVER PREPARING FOR A PROJECT OR A MEETING AND LEARN THINGS AS YOU GO. SOMETIMES YOU NEED PROOF THAT IT WILL NOT BE THE END OF THE WORLD. 

PRACTICE ASKING FOR HELP

ASK A QUESTION A DAY. THIS SHOWS WILLINGNESS TO LEARN RATHER THAN INCOMPETENCE. 

CHANGE YOUR OWN SCRIPT 

REFRAME YOUR NEGATIVE SELF-TALK. INSTEAD OF “WAIT TIL EVERYONE FINDS OUT I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING”, TRY “EVERYONE STARTS SOMEWHERE. I DON’T KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS BUT I WILL FIGURE THINGS OUT”. 

ACCEPT BEING A WORK IN PROGRESS

STOP STRIVING FOR PERFECTION AND START DEVELOPING A HEALTHY RESPONSE TO MISTAKES AND FAILURES. THESE ARE LEARNING BLOCKS INSTEAD OF DEFEAT.