Comments on: Do You Feel Like a Fraud?

By: Matthew Newnham

Matthew Newnham — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:45:13 +0000

Hi Heather,

Another great – and timely – post. Thanks for your wise counsel and great encouragement.

My strange associative mind is kicking in with a song for each one of your posts. For this one, what came to mind instantly was: “We Are Family”.

Kinda hard not to smile in the face of insecurity with *that* going on in your head, no?

Best wishes from Scotland,

Matthew

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:28:37 +0000

In reply to Lisa. Oh no. It's not just you. :)

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:20:43 +0000

I had to laugh when I read your post title. It’s such a relief to know I’m not the only one…

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:10:59 +0000

In reply to Claire. Fantastic! :) Thanks for letting me know - and good luck with your business plan!

By: Claire

Claire — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:43:18 +0000

Thank you. I’m thinking of setting out in business and this was exactly the sort of kindly encouragement I need.

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:19:30 +0000

In reply to Jim.

Hey, Jim!

Yeah, it’s twisted…but it’s also normal, too. I know a lot of folks who feel the exact same way sometimes (including me.) Amazing how we can discount our success, eh?

Thanks for your comment!

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 02:08:21 +0000

I am and have been afflicted with this … sometime to the degree that when you get praise, you just figure they didn’t see the fraud and that somehow you got away with it! How twisted is that?! :)

Thank you for this!

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:34:13 +0000

In reply to Amy C. Teeple.

Insecurity sucks – those days are HARD! You can have 100 happy experiences – and then, just one bad client experience throws you off your game. For the rest of the day, that ONE instance dictates how you feel about yourself.

If we can distract ourselves and focus on something else – just for a little bit – it can certainly help our mood. Thank goodness. ‘Cause being in an insecure place is a bad place to be.

You’re welcome for the post. :)

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:29:23 +0000

In reply to tealady24.

Tealady – I know, right? The dinosaur graphic is perfect! :)

Staying positive is so important (and so hard to do sometimes.) If we can just shift our focus to a grateful thought, a happy moment or an accomplishment, we can break out of the “I don’t deserve this” funk. Easier said that done sometimes…but when we CAN do it, it makes a huge difference. :)

Thanks!

By: Amy C. Teeple

Amy C. Teeple — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 19:02:48 +0000

Bravo!

No matter how well we are doing this insecurity continues to pop up. What’s worse is when you have that one – shall we say, “trouble” – client that you cannot seem to please. Even if you have hundreds of clients praising you, that one client who questions your writing skills can throw you for a loop.

I just had a conversation today about stress (and panic attacks) and it was mentioned that even taking a minute to list what you are grateful for can turn your attitude around.

Thanks for this post and thanks for being a sounding board when I need it. :-)