Do you ever get that feeling like you don’t belong, that you’re executing a big ruse, and eventually someone will discover that you don’t actually know what you’re doing, even though you are, ostensibly, more than qualified to do the work? So do I, it’s called imposter syndrome. In fact, one of the biggest reasons for my slow start as a blogger, editor, and writer, is because of imposter syndrome. I finished and completed a course, a rigorous course, I even completed an exam, I can show my completion certificate that I did in fact do this. And yet, I still feel like I’m pulling a fast one, despite putting in the work, despite having a knack for the work itself even before completing the course. So how do we overcome this mental block?

I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes by the late and great Carrie Fisher, “Stay afraid, but do it anyways. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” Ultimately, imposter syndrome is a lack of confidence, combined with anxiety, and perfectionism. Carrie left us with a great bit of advice, but boy is it ever hard to put it into action, because it’s a frightening thing to be brave. We owe it to ourselves not to let the fear win. Here are three of my biggest takeaways in my ongoing battle with the bugbear known as imposter syndrome.

• Find your People: This is becoming one of my most often repeated pieces of advice, but truly, find a community, even if that community is one or two other people. I’m a member of editor groups, and talking to those established in the business, it’s reassuring to find that they had, and sometimes still have the same doubts and fears about themselves that I have about myself. Common experiences are powerful. Read interviews with your favorite authors, and their own struggles when they were trying to get published. It’s reassuring to know where others started isn’t so different from your own beginnings, and the work you are doing is legitimate, despite your inner voice trying to convince you otherwise.

•  Let go of Perfectionism: This is one I’m still working on; how can I ever be taken seriously if there happens to be a mistake in my own posts. If it’s not perfect, it’s no good. Wrong. I know I’ve read traditionally published books which have gone through countless editing passes and been proofread to a high standard, and yet typos and mistakes are still found, and that’s ok! If something isn’t perfect, it’s not a failure, it’s an opportunity for growth, and that growth will see you that much closer to the vision you have for yourself. Perfection is stagnation, imperfection is dynamic and sees lessons learned and greater heights achieved. Does that mean we shouldn’t hold ourselves to a high standard? No, but make sure that high standard is realistic to you. The more we do something the better we get, but putting trust in that experience and knowledge can be daunting

• Celebrate your Success: In my research for this post, I discovered those prone to imposter syndrome tend to brush off their successes. I scored 93% on my final exam for my proofreading course. When I was much younger, I was a solidly 75-85% average student, so to score so high on my exam was, for me, a pretty big deal. Except I probably would have moved on without so much as a note had my husband not asked me what my grade was and celebrated me. It caused me to self-reflect on all the hard work and time I put in. We deserve to be proud of our accomplishments, they’re reminders that we are doing what we do because of perseverance, that there is no ruse, we worked hard to get here and are still working to go further. Don’t rest on your laurels, but acknowledge those successes, celebrate them.

And what if these tips don’t work, what if those feelings persist? Or, what if you succeed and master your imposter syndrome, only for a big change to happen, a new role, that dream gig, that query letter got accepted, and those feelings crop back up? It’s natural for these feelings of inadequacies to return when thrust into a new situation. Circling back to what Carrie Fisher said, “Stay afraid, but do it anyways.” Knowing that imposter syndrome is your brain and insecurities lying to you helps, even if those feelings of anxiety and fear remain. So, let’s make Carrie proud, and throw a middle finger up at those feelings, and keep going.