Something wise(-ish)

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We all know that feeling like an impostor is pretty awful.

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It’s stressful. It’s anxiety-provoking. And the fear of being “found out” — which is the hallmark of all fraudulence — can eat you up inside.
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But not all impostorism is created equal.

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In fact, if you don’t feel like an impostor sometimes, you’re doing something wrong.

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Because feeling like an imposter isn’t always a symptom of fraudulence.

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It’s also a sign that you’re growing.
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Here are a few conditions for what I like to call good impostorism:

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When you’re taking on a challenge that’s beyond your current capabilities.
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When you’re putting yourself in an unfamiliar situation.
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When you’re learning new skills and still figuring out how to deploy them.
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When you’re not excelling, but you’re not causing any harm.

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When your numerical age doesn’t line up with your responsibility or experience.

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When you have access to the people, information and support you need to close the gap.

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When you couldn’t have possibly acquired the necessary skills or experience until you actually did the thing.
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When you can eliminate anyone who challenges your authority.

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(Just kidding about that last one. This isn’t Kim Jong Un’s personal Substack. But man, that would be a killer newsletter. Literally.)

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If any of those conditions are true, then the impostorism you feel is probably a sign that you’re right where you’re supposed to be.
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I’m gonna say the quiet part out loud:

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Being a fraud is an essential step in the process toward not being a fraud.

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But to be a healthy fraud — to be a good impostor — you have to know the difference between punching above your weight and being completely out of your depth.
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You have to understand when you’re rising to the occasion and when you’re conning people into believing that you can do something you never will.

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And you have to actively seek out the resources you need to close the fraudulent gap.
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But if you want to grow, you’re going to have to risk the vulnerability of playing in that gap between what you can do and what you want to achieve.

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Your job isn’t to avoid being an impostor at all costs.

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Your job is to be the best impostor you can be.
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And if you’re interested in hearing how this idea played out in a listener’s life…​
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Check out episode #995, where we took a letter from a high-achieving listener who was working through some very intense fraudulence at work. It was actually one of the most interesting cases of impostorism I’ve ever heard.
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In the segment, we talked about how to overcome imposter syndrome before it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and how to work with healthy fraudulence.
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We also talked about how trauma informs our feelings of impostorism — another nuance to this topic that doesn’t get enough attention, in my view.
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Have you found this principle to be true in your world? Struggling to make use of it?​
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Hit reply and tell me about it. I’m all ears?
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On the show this past week

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​1206: Taylor Lorenz | How Child Influencers Become Predator Magnets​

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​1207: Hoping Her 1%er ‘Old Man’ Is a Flash in the Pan | Feedback Friday​

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​1208: Antisemitism | Skeptical Sunday​

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