Fight impostor syndrome

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Written By Brian Krogsgard

3 thoughts on “Fight impostor syndrome”

  1. Thanks for this. Impostor Syndrome is something I constantly struggle with, both as a designer and as a theme “configurer” getting pushed into more custom theme development and functionality, as well as a business owner, a friend, a spouse… I think we all just want to be the best we can be, which is better than we are now, but it’s good not to forget how much value you can add right this very second.

  2. I like to say “Everybody’s an expert (at something).” (I’m sure I stole that from somebody, but who remembers who?). The same goes for why people don’t think they can help on the forums, or at a happiness bar at a WordCamp, or why people undercharge for their WP-related services, or for that matter, why some people don’t think they can make a business on WordPress in the first place.

  3. What’s in a word? Or even, what is a word? To have efficient communication it’s convenient to have labels that represent concepts that are roughly the same thing, but our human tendency to categorize things into discrete entities belies the true nature of words and their meanings, which are really best described as a range of uses centered around a semantic target. Think Venn diagrams.

    Of course, the impostor syndrome isn’t a new thing and to a certain extent has been legislated away with all of the certifications, education, training and requirements to do so many things in our world, but the downside is that you may not have the best and brightest doing what they are meant to do, just the best test-takers.

    In the WordPress world, you’re a developer if you say you are, provided you have the chops to stand up to that claim. Ultimately, the community will weigh in heavily on this, influencing one’ comfort level with a label’s usage.

    Of course, this explains why lawyers scare me. Their preference for black and white answers don’t mesh with my shades of gray view of the world. But I guess at least one lawyer, while being pushed for an answer, understands because he famously quipped that “it depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is!”

    Back to the point of impostor syndrome, although it’s natural to understand how it comes about, you can choose to sidestep those critical inner voices placing such a label on yourself. And the WordPress community needs you to make that decision and just do!

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