I think it is called "Impostor Syndrome" and I think it hits more people than we realize. It could be a real psychological disorder and it could be something we all think. We all may, at different times, feel inferior. We will feel unqualified. I struggled with it 2 years ago when I started grad school and I am having those same thoughts now that I'm starting a real, full-time job. I know I can do this but get thoughts that suggest I should run back to a safe environment, like school. I am not an impostor, but I feel like an impostor.
Question:
Is the impostor syndrome bad? What can we learn from these thoughts and feelings? How do we grow from feelings of inferiority to confidence? How does the Impostor Syndrome reflect our own fallenness and God's redemptive work in our lives?
Good questions.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I think starting off feeling like an impostor isn't always bad. I felt that way starting school and starting in my job. It made me humble and nervous. I get that feeling quite a bit, but with my job that feeling needs to fly out the window when the mic is live.
The only ways I've found to deal with the feeling of being an impostor or inferior is to prepare before the mic comes on and to pray before the mic comes on.
Bottom line: "impostor syndrome" remins me of my need for Him.
It's definitely a weird bunch of thoughts and feelings. Perhaps feeling humble and challenged at the beginning of a job or school is good, but are the internal rumblings that say "you don't really belong here" the same thing?
ReplyDeleteI keep trying to remind myself that my foundation needs to be in the Bible and Praying and fighting sin, especially when everything else seems to be fluid and without a solid foundation. The old songs "Rock of Ages" and "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness" are so, so true. Not that I'm there, but I know I ought to be...
Good point. Perpetual internal rumblings can't be good. It is assuring that God promises to be "the author and perfecter of our faith". He's doing the perfecting so we know it will happen. This is where we have to rest... easier said than done though.
ReplyDeleteCare to write another blog? About St. Johns, MI adventures?... eh?...
ReplyDelete