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Working Towards Our Purpose is a raw, unedited podcast where former mechanical engineer Gino Cordone shares his journey to finding purpose in work and life. Each episode explores an idea that can help you uncover meaning in your career, live more authentically, embrace worthiness, and encourage that voice in your head asking for more.
Welcome Back to episode 45 of Working towards
our purpose. Today's episode, I want to talk about
imposter syndrome. And before we get into that,
always start this. These episodes with something positive.
And so I had an interesting dream last
night, this morning that I thought I'd. I'd talk about
a little bit because it was kind of positive. So I
had this dream that I was in, like, a
helicopter, and it was flying, like, super low to the ground,
and it was, like, pretty turbulent, and
I usually, like, don't like that. Like, you know,
anytime you, like, feel the turbulence in, like, a plane or in a helicopter,
I would imagine most people don't really like that. But as the
dream went on, I, like, kind of got used to it, and I was like,
okay, we're not gonna crash. Like, like, we'll be. We'll be fine. It's just like
a little bit of, you know, stomach up and down type feeling.
And then I woke up, and then I kind of thought nothing of it. And
then I usually, like. Or I have been getting into, like,
just quickly Googling, like, what do you dreams about
helicopters mean? So I did that when I remembered,
and. And it said that dreams
about helicopters represent, like,
things are, like, taking off or looking up.
And I thought that that was kind of interesting. And I also thought that, like,
it. It kind of felt like that was true because towards the end of the
dream, like I said, I sort. I sort of, like, became okay
with the, like, moving of the helicopter and the turbulence of it and wasn't,
like, afraid of crashing anymore. Um, so I thought that that was pretty cool.
And then I was thinking about it a little bit more, and I was like,
huh, I wonder, like, what that's symbolizing
or, you know, perhaps that could.
I could take that as, like, maybe my podcast will be getting
more popular or, you know, whatever it may be
calling more good into my life, pretty much. And it was
funny because, you know, know, in episode 43, that was the topic
of the episode was was calling more good into your life. So
it was kind. I don't know, it kind of felt like a representation of that,
which felt positive for me. So. So, yeah, anyways,
I. I think. I think, like, looking up dreams is. Is kind of always a
cool thing just to, like, quickly see what certain things symbolize
and then kind of see what it means for you and, like, where you're at
in your life. But, yeah, speaking of where I'm
at, where we're at, if you listened to last week's episode, you
know, that I was struggling quite a bit,
and the thing that I was struggling with the most, I think,
is imposter syndrome. So I
figured that'd be a perfect topic for today's episode. You know, what is
imposter syndrome? How do you get through imposter syndrome? How do you work through it?
So, yeah, getting into it last
week, I was not in a good headspace.
And, you know, I. I always, like, try to think
about, like, why I, you know, get
into certain mindsets or, you know,
why. Why are certain things happening. Try to overanalyze, I
guess, my. My internal sort of
feelings and that sort of thing. So right after I did the
podcast last week, I immediately felt better.
And, you know, once I did like, all the back end work of uploading it,
I felt productive. I felt like I got through it, and then my week kind
of turned around and it's kind of interesting.
And I was thinking about, like, well, where. Where did it come from? Why was
I feeling that? And I think I kind of figured out that,
uh, as I mentioned in a couple previous episodes before I was applying to
be a TEDx speaker, uh, TEDx is coming to New Haven,
and I wanted to apply to try to get in as a speaker.
And the deadline was last Friday, and so
Monday. And, you know, even the weeks before that, I was
trying to put together my application, trying to figure out what I wanted to say.
And I think that I. I got kind of got stuck
in a point, and I was like, what do I even want to
say? What. What should I even say? Should I even be the
one, like, doing this? Should I even be doing a TEDX
talk? Why am I applying? You know, just kind of going down
the rabbit hole of imposter syndrome. And.
And then once I was able to kind of get out of it after I
recorded my podcast on Tuesday, then I was able to
kind of realize, like, oh, okay, that makes sense. I was feeling imposter syndrome because
I was plying applying to be a TEDx speaker, and I've never done that before.
So, you know, that kind of makes sense as to why I would feel that.
Um, so. So, yeah, what is imposter syndrome?
Um, for. For those of you who maybe haven't heard about it before
or maybe it's a newer term. Imposter syndrome
is basically your internal experience of doubting your
own abilities. Um, and, yeah, that's. That's kind
of how it feels like, like how I described, like, you start
questioning, like, why am I doing this? I'm not good enough to do This. I
don't have enough experience to do this. This isn't something I'm
familiar with. So, you know, maybe somebody else is better off doing it
instead of me. You feel like an imposter. You feel like
you're not the person, you know, that should be doing this or should be
ready to do this. So
it is something that sort
of shows up in a lot of different facets, I guess, of my
life. I also. The reason I wanted to
do, you know, an episode of this topic today is because it showed up
again this week for me when I was doing
something. Something kind of silly. And like, luckily it was kind of a quicker
turnaround and I was able to realize it was imposter syndrome faster than
last week. But, yeah, I was. I was doing some research
on, like, other podcasts out there, like mine, and
I started just, like, looking at all of these bigger podcasts and bigger
followings and how they had more reviews and, you know,
people saying good things about them and everything. And then I started
feeling like an imposter again. Cause I was like, oh, man,
I'm looking at all these other people's podcasts and how. How many
episodes they have, you know, whatever. The indicator of
success is that I'm doing redeeming in that time
as being better than me. And.
And then I stepped away from it for a little bit, and I realized, like,
oh, I was doing all this research on these podcasts for something
else, and then I got sucked into this. Like, these people
are better than me. I'm not good enough. I shouldn't even be doing a podcast.
Blah, blah, blah. So it's quite interesting how, like, it can kind
of just pop up, but I was able to kind of recognize it a
little bit quicker. And I was like, okay, I was doing this research that
kind of caused me to lead to comparing myself, therefore
feeling like an imposter. And then it kind of caused me to
change my course of action. And I was like, okay, maybe I don't need to
be doing this research I thought that I needed to be doing. And then all
of a sudden, it didn't really feel as important. And I was like, no, I
need to focus on what I'm doing. What am I doing this week?
And, yeah, so that was another example of how impostor sym.
Imposter syndrome showed up in my life, you know,
recently. So. So what do we do with imposter syndrome?
Like, what. What can you do about it? Well,
I think I, you know, as I was planning for this episode, I kind of
got these four steps that can help you work through
imposter syndrome. So if it's showing up for you in your life,
hopefully you can use these little, little steps to.
To kind of get through it and keep going on
with what you're doing and what you want to be doing. So, you know, the
first step is just being
aware of it and, like, accepting it.
So I think that the first time that I
heard about imposter syndrome, you know,
I don't remember exactly when it was, but I remember, like, hearing somebody
describe what imposter syndrome was, and I was like, whoa, that's
exactly how I feel. I didn't know that that was a thing. So
somebody else just kind of saying what it was and putting
a label to it made me feel like it's more
okay to have that feeling, like it's a normal thing. It's not like a
crazy thing. I'm not stuck in my own head of
not being good enough. It's actually, like a thing that
people have done research on and
sort of studies to. To see how this can
affect people. So it is a real thing, and I
think just being aware of what it is and being able to label it can
help you accept it. So if you've never heard about it before,
hopefully now you can put some language to that feeling
and you can begin to start accepting it.
And then the second step would be to know that you're not alone
and know that everybody has imposter
syndrome. And it's, like I said, quite a normal
thing. And I think something interesting to
note is, like, you know, I hear successful
people before. You know, I hear successful people all the time talk about
how they still have imposter syndrome. And so it's not something that,
like, goes away when you're good enough, because
being good enough is kind of a feeling. Like, sometimes you feel like you're good
enough, and sometimes you feel like you're not good enough. Sometimes I feel like I'm
good enough to record this podcast, and last week, I didn't feel like I was
good enough, but so. So kind of is just a feeling.
So I think that it's important to know that, like,
okay, this is coming up. I can label it, I can identify it, but I
don't have to, like, identify with it. I don't have to identify as not
being good enough, you know, to do this thing that I want to do.
So, you know, it is a normal feeling. And
to get into the third step of how to work through
imposter syndrome, I think that we can
kind of flip imposter syndrome on its head and be like, once we
recognize that it's here, instead of feeling it as a bad thing,
we can take imposter syndrome and
look at it as a sign that it's a good thing and that you're doing
the something that is difficult or something that is new or something
that's challenging to you. Having imposter syndrome is
showing up because maybe you haven't done this thing before,
or it's something new. Like I said before, I was applying
to a TEDx conference. I've never done that before. So of course I
kind of feel like I don't know how to do it. It's because I'm pushing
myself and I'm trying to do something that I haven't done. So in.
Instead of taking imposter syndrome as, like, a negative thing, we can kind of
almost flip the sign. And now it's
like a positive thing because it's like, oh, I'm growing. I'm pushing myself to
grow. So this is actually a good sign. And then
once you're aware that it's happening, oh, here's imposter
syndrome. Now I can, like, instead of thinking of it as, like, a negative thing,
I could be like, oh, maybe it's a positive thing because I'm pushing myself.
Um, and hopefully, you know, that can give you some more confidence
to. To keep doing what. What it is that you're doing. Um, and then
the last thing, the. The fourth. The fourth thing, the fourth step,
I think the most important thing to think about when you're going through
this, too, and to. To kind of
keep getting you to go through it and. And to keep going with. With
whatever it is that you're working on, is to remember that
if you let imposter syndrome win, then you
let your gifts go unused. And,
you know, I think that that's such an important thing
to remember, because when you're feeling
like you're not good enough, you're not using your voice, you're not sharing
your ideas, you're not putting your creativity out there.
But those things, the gifts that you have, the
strengths that you have, the. The unique spin on things
that you have being put out into the world can help somebody else,
can benefit somebody else, can put positivity into somebody
else's life. Like I just said, how the first time I heard about imposter syndrome,
I'm pretty sure it was on a podcast. And, you know, if that
person never made that podcast and I never heard about Imposter syndrome.
You know, how much longer would I have gone thinking that, like, I was
deficient not. Not having language to,
you know, put on this feeling of feeling like an imposter?
So. So, yeah, if you let imposter syndrome win, then,
you know, your. Your gifts don't get to the world. And
I think that's kind of how we want to think through, like, getting through
imposter syndrome is, you know, the first two steps, the. The
awareness and letting go and to know that you're not alone.
Those are kind of just the first few steps of being aware of what
imposter syndrome is. And then the
last two steps are, you know, it's the sign of a
good thing, turning it into a positive thing instead of a negative, and then remembering
that if you let imposter syndrome win, your gifts will
not be given to the world. Those are kind of the
accept or the. The welcoming of imposter
syndrome. And that's kind of, you know, how you get through
it. So hopefully that made sense. That felt a little confusing to me.
But basically, being aware of imposter syndro
and then doing it anyways, that's kind of the takeaway,
is that we can be aware of imposter syndrome. We
can feel it, and then we can let it go, and we can do the
thing anyways, and we can remind ourselves that,
you know, we need to give our gifts to the world, our unique voice to
the world, because we can benefit, you know, the people around
us in a positive way. So, yeah, I think
another little story that kind of reminded me
of this whole imposter syndrome and letting it go and working through it
is, like I said yesterday, I was suffering from some imposter
syndrome, and I was having a conversation with somebody about a piece of
writing that I was working on. And
I had just gotten out of the shower, and I was thinking about comparing myself
to all these other podcasters out there and thinking like,
oh, man, should I even be doing this feeling like an
imposter? And then this friend that I was talking
to said something about how they benefited
from something that I was writing, and I was like, huh,
interesting. And, like, for whatever reason, it was like kind of a.
Like a switch flip, a flip of the switch,
however you say that. And I was like, oh,
I made that, and it positively impacted somebody. If I let
imposter syndrome win, I can't do that. So if
you take anything away from the episode, I think that's the big thing for me
is recognizing that something that you can
create can benefit somebody, but you can't create it if you don't let
yourself create it. And these feelings of being an imposter
can pass, and you can let them pass through you. Um,
so. So, yeah, you know, I encourage you to
think about maybe where you're feeling imposter syndrome in your life,
and, you know, the next time you go to do something new,
maybe if imposter syndrome comes up, you can kind of take these steps
and. And work through it and do the thing anyways. And,
yeah, don't. Don't let imposter syndrome stop you from what you're doing.
It is a normal feeling, and like I said,
it's a sign of a good thing. So that's all
I got for you today. I think if I have one call to
action for this episode, it would be to review this
podcast. If you listen to it and you enjoy it
and you benefited from it, it's really easy on Spotify. You can just go click
on the stars up top and review it. So if you're
listening on the Spotify app, and I know that most of you are,
if you would please just take a second to give me a rating,
because I have been made aware after comparing myself,
you know, to all these other podcasts this week, that I don't have very many
reviews. And, yeah, just the one thing maybe I
would ask. But other than that, I hope you all have a good week,
and I will see you on another episode real soon. Thank you for listening,
Sam.