When You Feel Like a Fraud (Even Though You’re Not)

You’ve done the work.
You show up. You care deeply. You’ve earned your place.

And still—there’s that feeling.
Like maybe you’re fooling everyone.
Like maybe this next thing will be the moment they all realize you’re not as competent, capable, or qualified as they think you are.

That’s imposter syndrome. And it’s loud.

It can show up in quiet ways—over-preparing, apologizing before you even speak, brushing off compliments, staying silent even when you have something valuable to say. It tells you that you’re only here because of luck, timing, or charm—not skill. Not strength. Not merit.

I’ve seen it in clients. I’ve seen it in colleagues. I’ve felt it myself.

The tricky thing is, imposter syndrome doesn’t come for people who don’t care. It comes for the ones who do.
The ones who are conscientious, thoughtful, reflective.
The ones who take their responsibilities seriously.
The ones who carry high expectations—not just from others, but from themselves.

And so even when you’re doing well, you second-guess.
You wonder if it’s enough.
You think, Maybe I’ve just gotten good at seeming like I know what I’m doing.

This is especially true for women.
We’ve been taught to downplay.
To be humble. To deflect praise. To not appear full of ourselves.
So we internalize this pressure to be quietly competent—but not too confident.
We work twice as hard just to feel like we belong in the room.

And the truth is—many of us stop ourselves before anyone else does.
We hold back.
We delay.
We tell ourselves we’re not ready, not yet, not quite.

But what if we didn’t have to wait until we felt confident to trust that we’re already enough?

Imposter syndrome isn’t a sign that you’re failing.
It’s a sign that you’re stretching. Growing. Stepping into something that matters to you.

The voice of self-doubt might still show up—but it doesn’t get to run the show.
Not anymore.

You don’t need to earn your place every time you speak.
You’re already here.
And you belong.