Impostor syndrome asymmetry

With impostor syndrome, I see the complete me. What I’m good at and what I’m not good at.

When other people look at people with impostor syndrome, they tend to see what those people are good at.

That’s the asymmetry.

I experience every moment of struggle, every gap in knowledge, every time I’m winging it.

Other people only see the output, the moments where I show up and deliver.

They don’t see the internal uncertainty or the things I avoid because I know I can’t do them well.

So they build an image of me from the highlights while I’m working with the full unedited footage.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

They see the Instagram feed. I see all the photos that didn’t make the cut.