I went to Barcamp Omaha over the weekend. Zach Leatherman gave a talk there on Impostor Syndrome. It was something I had heard different people mention recently - and, I think even Leo Babauta talked about it at ZenHabits.
In simple terms, it's when you think you're not as good as you are.
I think we all probably suffer from that to some extent. Some of it is because all through our lives we've been taught that you should be humble and not 'toot your own horn'.
The suggestion Zach gave during his talk to overcome Imposter Syndrome was to participate. That's it - it was a simple suggestion but it made a lot of sense to me.
Participate; and let the chips fall where they may. It's something I've been thinking about the last few days - I could participate more - in a lot of different ways. Think of something you want to tweet? Tweet it. Want to write some blog posts? Write them. And then don't worry about what other people think of you.
So that's what I'm trying to do now.
But I want to participate even more. However, I don't mean, get involved with new activities necessarily. Instead, I want to participate more in 2 ways - beyond social media and blogging
a) I want to participate more in the lives of the people I care about and
b) I want to participate in my own life more.
What does that even mean?
Well, for (a) it means that I want to listen more. Ask more questions. Be interested. I have an 11 year old step daughter that I think could probably really use 5-10 minutes of my time each day - or even every other day - where I sat and listened and was genuinely interested in what she is saying. It seems so easy on paper to find 5 or 10 minutes, but in real life, it's hard. It's something that has to be done intentionally. Same with my other daughters - although at 4 and 1, the conversations probably won't be on the same level. But the same with anyone in my life - my wife, my brother, even certain co-workers.
And for (b) it means I'm at the point in my life where I need to start thinking more - about my life. And then not just thinking about it, but also making decisions and acting on those thoughts. Start making those small changes to become the person I want to be. Participating.