Hi everyone!
In my latest post, I share about how Imposter Syndrome affects the best of us. I give a few tips on how to tackle it. What are your favorite tips of overcoming Imposter Syndrome?
https://beyondthechaos.biz/imposter-syndrome-4-steps-to-tackle-it/
Thanks,
Susan
@StphaneMons : please be civil. Everyone of use needs to make money.
I love reading those articles because they are so wonderfully generically generic.
@StphaneMons - As a columnist for xDev magazine and a previous speaker at two XDCs, I have demonstrated my willingness to serve the Xojo community by providing free tips and insights on operations, business and project management and how those areas affect the small business owner or solopreneur. There is nothing in these posts that asks you for money. They are shared for free, with permission from Xojo marketing. (In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I wrote something where I was purely self-promoting and I did not share it here.) Do I hope community members think of me should they ever need anything? Yes, of course. But, I have been serving this community since October 2016 and haven’t worked with anyone from the community so far. So, if I’m gold digging here, I certainly am wasting my effort. I enjoy engaging with the community, as I have when I have shared previous posts. And, that’s why I continue to do it.
Based on your follow up response to Beatrix, I’m not entirely sure what you are angry about. But these are shared in the “off-topic” area and you absolutely don’t have to click on the link.
Not sure what the heck this is about @Susan Fennema , but I welcome your contributions. I’m sure I’m not alone.
We do have a community policy to be civil: https://forum.xojo.com/46994-forum-etiquette-and-notices-2018
Yes, thanks for posting the link. Please remember to be kind or it can result in removal from our forum.
@Susan Fennema We appreciate you sharing your blog posts with us and thank you for taking the time to share your wisdom and experiences!
If someone doesn’t want to see a forum (Off-topic as an example), there is an option to Hide it.
If someone doesn’t like what other member posts, there is an option to Ignore Member.
Be civil, be happy.
There are two basic types that I recognize in the Xojo community - those of us that understand your articles because we’ve lived with exactly what you are describing, and those of us who just don’t get it because they’ve not been exposed to a more aggressive and demanding corporate type of work environment (whether computing or otherwise).
I like reading your posts for the “a-ha” moments that I recognize. But, I’ve been in the corporate world since leaving the USCG in 1988 and have worked from the bottom of the totem pole to various middle manager and finally C-level executive positions.
If what Susan is sharing doesn’t ring a bell with you, that’s not a problem, but many of us appreciate what she shares.
Imposter Syndrome is something we were just tweeting about last week! https://twitter.com/xojo/status/1134499905035071488
It’s something a lot of us who weren’t formally trained for our jobs have to contend with and was a topic of discussion on dev.to. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it too Susan.
Not just for pet peeves, the Off-Topic Forum is meant for this sort of topical, discussion generating post 
Very much appreciate all the support! (And @Alyssa Foley - when I saw that tweet last week, I was laughing a bit to myself about how timely it was, as this post was already scheduled to go live this morning!)
[quote=439712:@Susan Fennema]
In my latest post, I share about how Imposter Syndrome affects the best of us. I give a few tips on how to tackle it. What are your favorite tips of overcoming Imposter Syndrome?[/quote]
I like the post. Coding is just aspect of being a programmer. There needs to be a good balance between confidence and realism when presenting one’s abilities. That’s just good business.
When I was a Junior Olympic Archery coach, the thing I was most proud of was our work addressing the topic of Sports Psychology. Lots of lessons for life, and not just for the sport or archery. We always taught to “feast” on the good feelings of a good shot; analysis of a bad shot followed by abandoning (“forgetting”) the bad feelings of a poor shot. AKA “Feast or Forget”.
Thanks Susan.
This reminds of me watching football, when they say that quarterbacks have to have amnesia of their previous play when they make a mistake like an interception. Good stuff!
I cant believe given the forums guidelines about posting that that post was not removed
It violates a few at the very least
I understand that Susan isn’t a typical forum member. She doesn’t really code in Xojo, so she might appear as an outsider and possibly even spam. However, to those of us who actually have to sell our services, Susan brings some valuable insights and perspectives. I can see how that might not be pertinent to everyone here on the forum, but please keep in mind that Susan was invited here by a prominent member of the forums, that her presentations at the Xojo Developers Conference have been well received, and that many of us enjoy her posts. She is not a troll, she really is one of us. So please don’t attack her just because she doesn’t post about coding in Xojo. And please keep it civil.
Imposter Syndrome is a real thing. I’ve been consulting for over 18 years and there are days I still wonder if I’m not an imposter. Thankfully most days that answer is, well, I know more than many other developers and less than others.
As a consultant you’re hired because you’re a Subject Matter Expert (or SME). And sometimes being the SME means you can say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out if there’s an answer.” We’ve made a good living finding solutions using Xojo that other developers (sometimes even other Xojo developers) said couldn’t be done.
I don’t see the comment that set off everyone else (probably a good thing) but I will say that this forum and community is usually among the most polite and helpful on the internet. Let’s keep it that way and be kind and considerate.
This is absolutely true. I’ve always said that you don’t have to know everything. But, the ability to FIND OUT is HUGE!
My point wasn’t about Susan (Laura) making money, it was also not about posting to this forum. My point was about quality of copywriting. All articles are bland. Blander than bland.
Susan looked up imposter syndrome on Wikipedia. She was feeling a bit anxious in a job. But this doesn’t make imposter syndrome. The tips are also generic: start adulting. That’s for sure good advice for someone who is already feeling bad.
Instead Susan could have interviewed a psychologist who is treating people with imposter syndrome. She should have interviewed someone (or more than one) actually having this syndrome. How often do get people this syndrome? Do only high achievers get the syndrome or also underachievers? Do developers get imposter syndrome more often than in other professions? Is it a symptom of something else like burnout? The article doesn’t even scratch the surface.
I concur about bland. And not documented enough with live material.
A more talented columnist would probably be syndicated, instead of trying to sell her stuff to an ultra specialized crowd of developers, in an hyper confidential eMagazine, and this narrowest targeted of a forum.
It does not invalidate the very interesting topic of imposter syndrome. Or sometimes simply imposter feeling. Programmers and writers alike can have their moments of doubt, in particular when it comes to completion, without it being a syndrome.
Feeling a little ganged up on here! So, forgive me for being a bit defensive for a moment as I add some context. For background, I am not a syndicated columnist, reporter, or even professional blogger. I am a business consultant that works with small business owners in the professional services industries (like software developers, marketers, and advertisers) to help them with their project management and business operations. I embraced the Xojo market a couple of years ago, but I write, share and market to many communities and industries.
I write for my own blog, to serve various communities for free. And, of course, for SEO to drive people to my site and many other marketing reasons. My posts are based on personal experience and not intended to be researched articles or white papers. I’m absolutely not a psychologist and usually write more on the topics of project management or operations. But, several people raised the question of imposter syndrome over the past few months across my clients, team and coincidentally on the Xojo Twitter account last Friday. So, I thought I’d share my experience with it. I have found that many of us take our own experience and knowledge for granted and assume that if we know it, everyone does. I have learned that philosophy is not true.
I don’t sell clicks or have ads on my site. So, I have used my blog as an opportunity to share my experiences FOR FREE. If you want more, you’re welcome to engage me and pay me. If you are not interested or don’t get anything out of it, feel free to ignore or block me. There are people on this forum who appreciate my posts - and yes, some posts are better than others. (I write pretty much every 2 weeks, and if you have a topic you’d like me to talk about, I’m happy to.) That being said, I was hoping to start a conversation about imposter syndrome, not about my business intentions or how I could write free stuff better.
SO… what are YOUR experiences about imposter syndrome and how have you addressed them?
Apologies for that… my VA accidentally signed her name instead of mine when she posted it for me. That faux pas was corrected the second I saw it.