> people who feel they have "imposter syndrome", but are actually imposters (not just newbies who are still learning), and convince themselves that they aren't after finding out about imposter syndrome.
I could be one of those. But the thing is: a) one can rarely tell. And b) one way to look at imposter syndrome isn't that everyone is actually great while feeling terrible; it's that most people are quietly struggling in a lot of ways, which they see in themselves, but which are hidden from others. We could mostly be (and likely are) mediocre.
So I can be struggling for real, and be a real "impostor", and be doing fine relative to the average population of my peers, all at once. I see many ways I'm struggling with things my peers seem to breeze through, but I might not see the ways I'm succeeding where they're quietly struggling themselves, and vice versa.
Completely agree. You have a very healthy way of looking at this personally, and this is the larger lesson people need to take in. "Imposter syndrome" is more a rule of thumb to not be too hard on yourself. The bigger, and more difficult lesson, is to recognize what needs improvement, what you can improve, and what you can't, in yourself and other.
I could be one of those. But the thing is: a) one can rarely tell. And b) one way to look at imposter syndrome isn't that everyone is actually great while feeling terrible; it's that most people are quietly struggling in a lot of ways, which they see in themselves, but which are hidden from others. We could mostly be (and likely are) mediocre.
So I can be struggling for real, and be a real "impostor", and be doing fine relative to the average population of my peers, all at once. I see many ways I'm struggling with things my peers seem to breeze through, but I might not see the ways I'm succeeding where they're quietly struggling themselves, and vice versa.