This also applies in "not as public" spaces like in a team at work. people with their imposter syndrome will work on stuff "in secret" and not want to show anyone their ideas until it's "done". but actually sharing early has a lot of benefits.
but I definitely find your thoughts here interesting applied more to the public sphere. It's interesting because for me, working at a place like Google, a lot of my earlier career I was one of the "keep it secret till it's perfect" guys because the people I'd have to share it with are Big Fancy Googlers™. Now, posting on Substack or YouTube I feel lot less anxiety about posting. It's hard to tell if that's from just getting over it, believing/knowing no one is going to see it anyway (since I'm just starting), or something else.
Agreed—it's def an internal battle just as much as it is in super public spheres. I love that your Substack is called "just make the thing"! Very aligned with the "just ship" attitude. I always used to find it interesting when people would work in "secret"... it felt like they were hiding their ideas bc they thought if they showed people the idea, someone else would steal it. The problem is (and this is something I've also learned as I've gotten older), ideas are a dime a dozen and most people aren't willing to execute. That said, if you have ideas you happen to execute on—ship em! Have a little faith in yourself. Let them touch reality :)
Reading through your essay I thought of a song on James McMurtry's new album. The song is called Sailing Away.
He touches on a few of the same issues you describe so eloquently. In particular, these two brilliant lyrics in the song address the questions of self doubt that you raise:
Wonderin' if I'm even worth the paper I'm printed on.
It's a judgment call.
And have I any business bein' in this business anymore?
Keep writing. A number of people (including me) are reading your essays because they resonate.
I love this... it's always such a brutal yet comforting reminder to know even the most successful people still suffer from imposter syndrome. Knowing that definitely makes it easier to cope with.
I’ve been struggling with impostor syndrome my entire career, but it really took hold when I started my journey into design. Fear is what kept me from going into design in the first place—I got a degree in CS when what I really wanted was to study art and design.
Your essay resonated on so many levels. “It’s about recognizing that our ideas—and by extension, ourselves—can only grow through contact with reality.” This line cut to the core.
But the part I’m still wrestling with is this: when is it good enough? When have I done my due diligence? I think sometimes I have the opposite problem of not waiting long enough. I ship things just to get them out of my head—to stop the spiral of self-doubt and overthinking. But then I second-guess whether I shared something half-baked just to find relief.
How do you tell the difference between “this is ready for other eyes” and “I just need this thing off my plate”?
Hi Andre, thanks for this note and I'm so glad this piece resonated with you. Art and design is so much fun btw! I don't really "know" when something's "ready" either... I think my threshold for getting things out though, is when I find myself with the same draft for a lengthy period and I've read and re-read it tons of times without making any additional edits—that usually tells me "I like this the way it is and I'm probably not shipping bc I'm afraid of what others will think"—then I ship ha
What I like about Substack and essays in particular (as I mentioned in this one), you can always go back and add things you feel you missed, or write a follow-up piece if you learned something new that seems relevant. I also think the more volume you're shipping (of anything) the better you'll get at reading your own cues. That's part of the symbiotic nature of the feedback you'll receive from letting your ideas touch reality :)
Yes. Like the "insecure overachiever" type that is often intentionally recruited and cultivated by companies that prioritise short-term results and judge value based on perception of external stakeholders. Insecurity is very often not a personal failing - it is created by organisations. It's not personal, it's systemic.
"creating the conditions for belonging through the work itself. Not waiting for permission, but shipping our way into the conversations we want to be part of. Not pretending we have all the answers, but offering our questions with enough honesty and care that they become contributions" -> I love that you are inviting others to create a space to feel more secure for each other, and invite into real conversations whilst being honest with feedback - but not false praise, becasue that breeds insecurity as it detaches one from a sense of competence.
YES! I think curiosity and an openness to learn new things is the most important piece of all of this. In order to ship something of quality, it doesn't necessarily have to be the smartest most intelligent thing someone's read. It just has to resonate. I think people resonate most with writers who admit the parts they don't know. Because the truth is, no one really knows much of anything. "What we know is a drop. What we don't know is an ocean"—I always try to keep that in mind when I'm feeling insecure about whatever I'm working on.
Love everything about this reflection. Thanks for sharing and naming it all. That’s also why I just push the publish button when i feel there’s so much more I should do ….
I think this is what I’ve been experiencing since starting my Substack. ‘Who am I to do this? and yet still I’m thinking ‘Who am I not to live my truth?
I’m pushing through hoping that my work evolves and I grow with it. 💗
Yesss, it's all about pushing through! And your work will definitely evolve—I think that's part of the nature of "just shipping" and letting our ideas touch reality. We get to see what does and doesn't work and can make changes and grow faster than if we kept it all locked in our heads for ourselves. I'm actually working on another piece right now about how we should definitely cringe at our previous work—if you don't cringe, you haven't evolved :)
The cosmos and all of its presence is a mystery! Even you, are a mystery! That you should feel disquieted, is rational! Stop giving therapists money! Therapists cannot help!
So, for example, starting a second paid newsletter. Then spending time getting it up, writing the introductory post and then pouring hours into the first paid post, getting zero views or hits on either, then deleting the entire newsletter? That kind of imposter syndrome?
I used to do this too—I'd have something out with no engagement and would go back and delete it. But what I learned over time was that one day you'll get a hit out there which will attract people to your account... if they land on your account and there's nothing there for them to peruse, they're less likely to follow/subscribe. Plus, if we're truly writing about the things we feel passionate about, we should let those things live on their own, even if no one else gets to appreciate them yet. Some things can just be for us :)
Thank you. The piece I took down I plan to put back up on my free newsletter. I’m retired law enforcement and so it’s a piece on 10 points on how to stay safe in society. It’s information I still feel everyone should have so I am going to clean a few things and that will come back up for free. Point being is that your article was spot on, and probably especially for retired law enforcement officers. I think we tend to have to worst cases of imposter syndrome.
This also applies in "not as public" spaces like in a team at work. people with their imposter syndrome will work on stuff "in secret" and not want to show anyone their ideas until it's "done". but actually sharing early has a lot of benefits.
I wrote about this
https://dlmfk.substack.com/p/the-hidden-tax-on-secret-work
but I definitely find your thoughts here interesting applied more to the public sphere. It's interesting because for me, working at a place like Google, a lot of my earlier career I was one of the "keep it secret till it's perfect" guys because the people I'd have to share it with are Big Fancy Googlers™. Now, posting on Substack or YouTube I feel lot less anxiety about posting. It's hard to tell if that's from just getting over it, believing/knowing no one is going to see it anyway (since I'm just starting), or something else.
Agreed—it's def an internal battle just as much as it is in super public spheres. I love that your Substack is called "just make the thing"! Very aligned with the "just ship" attitude. I always used to find it interesting when people would work in "secret"... it felt like they were hiding their ideas bc they thought if they showed people the idea, someone else would steal it. The problem is (and this is something I've also learned as I've gotten older), ideas are a dime a dozen and most people aren't willing to execute. That said, if you have ideas you happen to execute on—ship em! Have a little faith in yourself. Let them touch reality :)
Reading through your essay I thought of a song on James McMurtry's new album. The song is called Sailing Away.
He touches on a few of the same issues you describe so eloquently. In particular, these two brilliant lyrics in the song address the questions of self doubt that you raise:
Wonderin' if I'm even worth the paper I'm printed on.
It's a judgment call.
And have I any business bein' in this business anymore?
Keep writing. A number of people (including me) are reading your essays because they resonate.
I love this... it's always such a brutal yet comforting reminder to know even the most successful people still suffer from imposter syndrome. Knowing that definitely makes it easier to cope with.
I’ve been struggling with impostor syndrome my entire career, but it really took hold when I started my journey into design. Fear is what kept me from going into design in the first place—I got a degree in CS when what I really wanted was to study art and design.
Your essay resonated on so many levels. “It’s about recognizing that our ideas—and by extension, ourselves—can only grow through contact with reality.” This line cut to the core.
But the part I’m still wrestling with is this: when is it good enough? When have I done my due diligence? I think sometimes I have the opposite problem of not waiting long enough. I ship things just to get them out of my head—to stop the spiral of self-doubt and overthinking. But then I second-guess whether I shared something half-baked just to find relief.
How do you tell the difference between “this is ready for other eyes” and “I just need this thing off my plate”?
Hi Andre, thanks for this note and I'm so glad this piece resonated with you. Art and design is so much fun btw! I don't really "know" when something's "ready" either... I think my threshold for getting things out though, is when I find myself with the same draft for a lengthy period and I've read and re-read it tons of times without making any additional edits—that usually tells me "I like this the way it is and I'm probably not shipping bc I'm afraid of what others will think"—then I ship ha
What I like about Substack and essays in particular (as I mentioned in this one), you can always go back and add things you feel you missed, or write a follow-up piece if you learned something new that seems relevant. I also think the more volume you're shipping (of anything) the better you'll get at reading your own cues. That's part of the symbiotic nature of the feedback you'll receive from letting your ideas touch reality :)
Yes. Like the "insecure overachiever" type that is often intentionally recruited and cultivated by companies that prioritise short-term results and judge value based on perception of external stakeholders. Insecurity is very often not a personal failing - it is created by organisations. It's not personal, it's systemic.
"creating the conditions for belonging through the work itself. Not waiting for permission, but shipping our way into the conversations we want to be part of. Not pretending we have all the answers, but offering our questions with enough honesty and care that they become contributions" -> I love that you are inviting others to create a space to feel more secure for each other, and invite into real conversations whilst being honest with feedback - but not false praise, becasue that breeds insecurity as it detaches one from a sense of competence.
YES! I think curiosity and an openness to learn new things is the most important piece of all of this. In order to ship something of quality, it doesn't necessarily have to be the smartest most intelligent thing someone's read. It just has to resonate. I think people resonate most with writers who admit the parts they don't know. Because the truth is, no one really knows much of anything. "What we know is a drop. What we don't know is an ocean"—I always try to keep that in mind when I'm feeling insecure about whatever I'm working on.
Love everything about this reflection. Thanks for sharing and naming it all. That’s also why I just push the publish button when i feel there’s so much more I should do ….
Thanks so much, Eurie. There's always more "to do" so we might as well publish what we've done so far 🙈
This is such a timely article. I'm dealing with this feeling quite a bit right now. Oh the irony of writing and imposter syndrome!
I was laughing at myself when I had the thought "who am I to write about imposter syndrome? As if I know anything about imposter syndrome"
Welp, turns out I actually know quite a bit about it bc I live it every day—just like most other humans ha
I think this is what I’ve been experiencing since starting my Substack. ‘Who am I to do this? and yet still I’m thinking ‘Who am I not to live my truth?
I’m pushing through hoping that my work evolves and I grow with it. 💗
Yesss, it's all about pushing through! And your work will definitely evolve—I think that's part of the nature of "just shipping" and letting our ideas touch reality. We get to see what does and doesn't work and can make changes and grow faster than if we kept it all locked in our heads for ourselves. I'm actually working on another piece right now about how we should definitely cringe at our previous work—if you don't cringe, you haven't evolved :)
I like that insight. Thank you. 💗
The cosmos and all of its presence is a mystery! Even you, are a mystery! That you should feel disquieted, is rational! Stop giving therapists money! Therapists cannot help!
So, for example, starting a second paid newsletter. Then spending time getting it up, writing the introductory post and then pouring hours into the first paid post, getting zero views or hits on either, then deleting the entire newsletter? That kind of imposter syndrome?
Noooo! You gotta leave it up!
I used to do this too—I'd have something out with no engagement and would go back and delete it. But what I learned over time was that one day you'll get a hit out there which will attract people to your account... if they land on your account and there's nothing there for them to peruse, they're less likely to follow/subscribe. Plus, if we're truly writing about the things we feel passionate about, we should let those things live on their own, even if no one else gets to appreciate them yet. Some things can just be for us :)
Thank you. The piece I took down I plan to put back up on my free newsletter. I’m retired law enforcement and so it’s a piece on 10 points on how to stay safe in society. It’s information I still feel everyone should have so I am going to clean a few things and that will come back up for free. Point being is that your article was spot on, and probably especially for retired law enforcement officers. I think we tend to have to worst cases of imposter syndrome.