Introduction
Ever felt like a fraud? Like you’re not qualified to teach, that your course isn’t good enough, or that you’re simply going to fail?
You’re not alone.
Imposter syndrome is a common experience for many in adulthood and course creators are not exempt. In this episode, we’ll tackle this debilitating feeling head-on with three simple yet powerful tips to overcome imposter syndrome and build unshakeable confidence in your course creation journey.
Imposter Syndrome: Is it Real?
Imposter syndrome, first named and really talked about as we talk about it today in 1978, can be a real roadblock for course creators. That nagging voice in your head whispering doubts and undermining your confidence can lead to procrastination, self-sabotage, and ultimately, prevent you from sharing your valuable knowledge with the world.
Some people might suggest that you should just ignore the feeling that you are an imposter and use it to push you forward. The challenge with that is that imposter syndrome or imposter phenomena can impact anxiety, depression, productivity and even somatic issues like upset stomachs according to expert, Dr. Marwa Azab in one PsychologyToday article.
The truth is that imposter syndrome can lead us as course creators to experience analysis paralysis where we are either reluctant to take action or on the flip side of the coin keep revising over and over rather than hitting publish.
Imposter syndrome can also tank our motivation and creativity as we start doubting whether we are worthy or good enough to guide our course students through the process that we’ve created. It can keep us from launching, from sharing our offer, and even from backing away from proposals that are perfect for us.
These missed opportunities don’t just hold us back as entrepreneurs, it can creep into every aspect of our lives and that is not what we want.
Clearly, imposter syndrome is not something we should just let live rent free in our brains, but what can we do to overcome or at least quiet that voice that says we are not worthy of the success we are seeking as course creators?
That is probably bigger than the amount of time we have for this episode, but I am going to walk you through three tips that can alleviate the imposter syndrome.
Tip 1: Build Your “Success Lookbook”
One of the most effective ways to combat imposter syndrome is to remind yourself of your past successes. Create a “Success Lookbook” to document your accomplishments and build a powerful sense of self-belief.
If you are creating a course, chances are high that you’ve implemented what you are teaching, you’ve lived it, or you’ve helped at least one other person. This is a perfect opportunity to think about what you’ve accomplished and write it down. Did you earn a degree in the content area of your course? Write it down. Did you help 2 people with the content of your course? Write it down. Did you have to experiment to find the right approach for your own life and find success? Write it down.
This is not the time to be humble. The more that we remind ourselves of just how capable we are, the less likely we are to be plagued with thoughts of being an imposter. And if we do experience those thoughts, the faster we are to banish them and keep moving forward.
Keep track of all positive feedback that you’ve received, grab screenshots on social media where someone commented on a post thanking you for your insights. We often dismiss these as “little” or “insignificant” when in fact they are significant and important reminders that we are successful. Each time you get an email that says thanks for your help grab a screenshot of that and put it into a folder on your computer.
The key is to continually acknowledge the wins you’ve experienced, no matter how small they might feel.
You might be listening to this and thinking that you don’t really have anything to put in your success lookbook. This is probably because you are dismissing the little things that happened or the things that feel like everyone has done. It doesn’t matter if everyone has done the same thing. If you accomplished it, write it down. Now is not the time to edit out content. Include everything.
With your lookbook you can now incorporate time each week or each day to review one positive thing. We are simply reminding our brains of the success that already exists that we can build upon with our continued efforts in course creation.
The brain loves to create connections, kind of like a spiderweb. If we tell our brain that specific content is related to a success then it starts to look for other instances of success and that success strand connected to the course content becomes stronger.
This “Success Lookbook” serves as a powerful reminder of your capabilities and helps you silence that inner critic when imposter syndrome strikes.
Tip 2: Take Consistent Action (Even Small Steps)
But a “Success Lookbook” is not the only key to overcoming imposter syndrome as a course creator. If that were the case, we could slap some awesome sticky notes on the bathroom mirror, read them every morning, and we would never hear about Imposter Syndrome again.
We all know that that isn’t reality. We can’t just think our way to getting out of imposter syndrome, we also have to take action because imposter syndrome thrives on inaction.
If you’ve ever taken a psychology class, you’ve probably heard of Martin Seligman. He coined the term learned helplessness. It is, in a nutshell, the idea that if we try something and it doesn’t work, we start to wonder if we will ever have success. When we get into that groove of thinking that we can’t be successful or don’t deserve success we stop taking the actions that could lead to success and as you would suspect, don’t have success.
How does that apply to us as course creators? Well, if you create a course, a lead magnet, a webinar, and it doesn’t meet our goals, then we start to wonder if we will ever figure it all out. Then we don’t go as full steam ahead the next time we create a webinar. Maybe we don’t promote it as much, don’t send as many reminder emails, and when the webinar flops we have more evidence that we will never figure it out. And the next time we offer a webinar we don’t even promote it a wider audience, we quietly announce that the webinar is happening, but then after this try we give in to that feeling that maybe we aren’t meant to be a course creator, maybe we aren’t good enough to be an entrepreneur.
The reality is that when we are stuck in a cycle of self-doubt like this, taking actions and taking consistent full-blown action can feel overwhelming.
Since we know that imposter syndrome tends to grow like cold germs in a preschool classroom, we have to break things down and take action. One way to do this is to break tasks down into small steps each day.
I have a friend, Richard Ralston, who has developed “The Next Tiny Step” method. He, wisely, talks about taking those big tasks and breaking them down into just the next tiny step that you should take. Make it a no-brainer and get accountability. Tell someone that you are going to get this task done so that they can check on you, so that you can report back to them that you have finished what you said you would do.
By focusing on just the next tiny step, we experience success early and often, and yes, capture that success and put it in your “Success Lookbook”. We can celebrate these small, next tiny step, wins each day.
When we commit to taking one small action a day, just 15 minutes of our time we are creating a cycle of success not a cycle of learned helplessness.
Consistent action, even in small increments, builds momentum and reinforces our belief in our abilities. It also helps to shift our focus from fear and doubt to progress and accomplishment. The Imposter Syndrome begins to take a back seat.
Tip 3: Challenge the Imposter Syndrome Narrative
In fact, the goal here is to tell Imposter Syndrome that it can’t have a seat at the table, in the car, or in our minds. We often hear that imposter syndrome is “normal” or “inevitable.” But what if we challenged that belief?
What if we set ourselves up to minimize imposter syndrome starting today. So far we’ve talked about building a “Success Lookbook” and taking consistent action to set up a cycle of success.
The third, and final, idea that I want to share with you today is to challenge Imposter Syndrome by focusing on your strengths and expertise. We are each experts in at least one area, likely the area that we are teaching our course on. Lean into this like you are leaning to win a tug of war contest. In fact, if it helps imagine your strengths on one side of the mud pit beneath the rope and imposter syndrome on the other side. You are pulling on the side with your strengths and can lean far back, using all of your weight and muscles to pull Imposter Syndrome into the mud.
Our expertise is something that we often diminish in an effort to be humble, to not stick out, or to hide because we’ve been criticized in the past. Now is the time to show our expertise, be proud of it, and lean into those strengths that we have carefully cultivated through learning, experience, and sheer will.
When we can lean into our strengths, we start to trust in our ability to create a valuable and impactful course that will help our students achieve their goals.
By actively challenging the imposter syndrome narrative, we can cultivate a more positive and empowering mindset that supports our course creation journey.
Action Item
Today, we’ve covered three tips and actions to take to help minimize Imposter Syndrome that can easily sabotage our progress and success as a course. And since one of the tips is to take action, that is exactly what I’m going to ask you to do this week.
Thinking about the three ideas we discussed, from creating a “Success Lookbook” to taking consistent action to challenging the negative self-talk, what will be your focus?
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- This week, start building your “Success Lookbook.” Dedicate 15-20 minutes each day to documenting your accomplishments and celebrating your wins.
- Implement the “next tiny step” rule that Richard Ralston talks about. Choose one small, achievable action related to your course creation each day and commit to completing it.
- Challenge your negative self-talk: When imposter syndrome creeps in, consciously challenge those negative thoughts and replace them with positive affirmations.
Whatever you choose, the key is to take action and adjust from there.
Sixty-Second Solution
Before we wrap up today, I do want to spend just a moment addressing the elephant in the room, in our Sixty-Second Solution.
One common challenge when trying to overcome imposter syndrome is feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information and the perceived pressure to create the “perfect” course. After all, we are considered the experts in what we teach. We let the little voice in our head say things like, if we make a mistake how can anyone trust that we know what we are doing? Or perhaps that little voice suggests that you will be ripped to shreds on social media if you have even one typo.
Remember that perfection is the enemy of progress. In fact, I have a sticky note on my desk that reminds me that perfection is procrastination in disguise. Ultimately, they are saying the same thing. When we bow down to perfection, we don’t get anything done.
So where do we focus knowing that there will be imperfections in our courses? First up, prioritize your core message and make sure that you can talk about what you do with clarity and authenticity. We are all craving more real connections these days as AI takes over.
Also, remember that there will be imperfections and those imperfections can be a great reminder to our students to take imperfect action. We can always refine and improve our courses, our messaging, our lead magnets, our emails over time. We aren’t aiming for perfect, we are aiming to be clear in our communications and help at least one person with our course content.
Where to Go Next?
Overcoming imposter syndrome is truly an ongoing process, but by implementing these tips we’ve covered today, it is possible to build a more positive and empowered mindset, build confidence that is strong, and finally bring our courses to life.
If you are listening to this episode when it airs, then you know that the new year is just around the corner. If you are in the process of planning for the upcoming year, check out Episode 101 and 170. Both tackle the concept of planning for the upcoming year and were published in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
As always, thank you so much for listening in. If you found this episode helpful, please share with your entrepreneur friends and colleagues who are building a digital course in their business and be sure to subscribe to the Digital Course Creator Podcast.
Until next time, happy creating!
