To close out our time together, we have to talk about some sticky stuff… namely Eastman 910.

While you may think you have no idea what I’m talking about, I assure you that you’ve got some Eastman 910 lying around your house. It’s been used as a tool to capture fingerprints, seal up wounds, and most importantly – permanently repair that piece of glass or ceramic you’ve taken a big chunk out of.

Super Glue. Previously known as Eastman 910.

Super glue (originally known as Eastman 910 – from Eastman-Kodak) was invented by Harry Coover Jr., who at the time was actually attempting to create clear plastic gun sights for soldiers in WWII. He happened to stumble across the substance purely by accident and then completely ignored it for 10 years when he worked with Kodak to distribute it as a home-usable adhesive.

Now you may be wondering to yourself what in the world Coover’s sticky substance has to do with impostor syndrome, and that’s a great question. While many of us hope to fully rid ourselves of impostor syndrome, the truth is that we’re quite stuck with it – just like when you get super glue on you and it’s a giant pain to get off.

Let’s look at why impostor syndrome sticks with us, and why that’s actually completely okay.

The only way to get rid of impostor syndrome, theoretically, is for you to not be an impostor
The problem with this is that growing and learning actually requires you becoming an impostor. You literally cannot become a master at any craft without going through stages of not knowing what the heck you’re doing first.

And this is not a one-time ocurrence. Every new thing you learn, the deeper you go into any subject, you’ll keep returning back to opportunities to feel like an impostor. This is because we have to go through phases of competency – starting with unconscious incompetence, moving to conscious incompetence, then unconscious competence, and lastly, conscious competence.

Those times where we’re unaware of ourselves are real breeding grounds to feel like an impostor. But, if you’re trying to grow and learn, you actually don’t need to worry about your impostor status at all. Because if you’re doing your best to grow – of course you’ll feel like or be an “impostor” at some point! It doesn’t need to be a big deal.

The only individuals who need to concern themselves with impostor status are those who are deliberately not growing and attempting to derive their self-worth from their work to garner praise. Lots of us have fallen into this from time to time, but also manage to work our way back out. All of you reading this, in the long run, really don’t need to concern yourselves with this – you’re reading this because you want to grow!

But even masters feel impostor syndrome…
If you’ve been in audio for years, you know that there’s always a new thing to learn and master. Mastery of any craft can turn into a lifelong pursuit where you inch closer and closer to “perfect”.

Ironically, this is a perfect breeding ground for impostor syndrome and never feeling like you’re good enough. Though, not everyone falls into this trap, as mastery allows for breadth and depth of mastery.

Those who avoid imposter syndrome as they move forward in their careers often do so by a simple change in perspective. Instead of trying to be an “expert” or “master”, they don the personal perspective of “student”. And yes, you can both be an expert and a student at the same time. Students come at all sorts of levels of wisdom – this is why the youngest students and eldest can learn from each other, and even the youngest students can teach what they’re learning!

Still, you’re unlikely to remove the “impostor” feelings, as hard as you try
As we’ve covered, impostor syndrome isn’t a phenomenon we can “solve” easily. There isn’t a formula or step-by-step process for “recovery.

Instead, the best way to look at impostor syndrome is actually not to try and “solve” it at all! Rather than trying to rid ourselves of it, we can just do our best to remember a few things:

• You are the one declaring yourself an impostor. If anyone else is, that’s really a jerk move.
• If you’re declaring yourself an impostor and so is everyone else – we’re all impostors together
• If we’re all impostors, nobody is actually a real impostor

So, be a student and be kind to yourself. Work to encourage yourself rather than being fearful. The vast majority of people would be more impresssed with you than you believe!

“So… I’m always going to feel impostor syndrome? THAT sucks…”
Let’s think of it this way – it’s a common mindset and attitude for creative people to question themselves and their abilities. Artists being deeply self-assured and self-confident isn’t prototypical – we’re more used to the concept of ‘deep’ artists who seek to find themselves through their art.

But, as celebrity culture teaches us – success doesn’t equate to self-care. It’s of primary importance that we actually build good habits to feed ourselves intrinsically, rather than relying on external indicators to tell us that we’re good.

That’s why recognizing that we’re all impostors is so powerful. It allows us to share commonalities and come together to support one another.

Okay, that was a lot. What did I say again?

• Growing and learning requires you to pass through a phase of potential impostor syndrome
• Even absolute masters feel impostor syndrome, they can sometimes prevent this through seeing themselves as a student
• There’s no “getting rid of” impostor syndrome, and that’s okay – we’re all impostors

Like super glue, impostor syndrome is sticky stuff…
But that’s okay – it’s a lot less annoying, and we can learn to appreciate it from a positive, helpful perspective. Meanwhile, my hands getting stuck together is not useful in any capacity whatsoever!

And don’t forget…
Next week, you’ll be getting a chapter from Quit Aspiring, Vol. 2, with a waiting list for the new book shortly to follow!