Imposter Syndrome: The Inner Critic, Fuelled by Comparison and Envy!

I think it is safe to say that we have all probably been there, scrolling through social media, flipping through a magazine or reading an article that makes us stop and think, Wow, they are amazing… why am I even trying?  It is in this exact moment when self doubt shows its ugly face! The thing you were so proud of five minutes ago now seems amateurish.  The excitement you had about your work is replaced by that sinking feeling: Maybe I’m not as good as I thought.

This is imposter syndrome in action and I think it thrives on comparison and envy. It is also something I live with in spades!

The Trap of Looking Sideways

The creative world is filled with incredible work, so much so that it’s impossible not to be influenced by what we see.  Inspiration is one thing, but when admiration turns into comparison, things start to unravel.  It’s no longer about appreciating someone else’s skill, it becomes about measuring our own work against theirs.

That measurement is almost always unfair.

We see the polished, perfected final version of someone else’s work. With ours, it’s only the messy, unfinished drafts.  We don’t see their failures, their doubts or the ten bad ideas they scrapped before landing on the one you were admiring! Maybe it is because we’re so close to our own process, we assume our struggles mean we’re less capable, less talented and maybe less deserving.

The Envy Spiral

Then comes the envy, the feeling that someone else is achieving something you want but don’t believe you can have.  It’s a quiet, uncomfortable emotion and because you know it’s wrong, it makes you feel guilty as it eats away at your confidence.

Envy makes imposter syndrome worse because it reinforces the idea that success is a limited resource.  If they’re doing well, there’s less space for you.  If their work is great, yours must be lesser by comparison.

This is, of course, a completely false narrative.  But the mind can be a persuasive nuisance and once the idea takes root, it’s hard to shake.

The Internal Battle

This maybe the real kicker, imposter syndrome is an entirely internal struggle.  No one else sees you the way you see yourself. You might be looking at someone else’s work and feeling inadequate, while someone else is looking at yours and feeling the exact same way.

So how can we break the cycle?

Acknowledge the distortion. Recognise that we are comparing someone else’s highlight reel to our behind the scenes footage.

Reframe envy as motivation. Instead of thinking, I’ll never be that good, maybe ask yourself, What can I learn from this?

Focus on our own progress. The only fair comparison is between where we were yesterday and where we are today.

Create for yourself first. The more we tie our confidence to external validation, the more fragile it becomes.  Make work you love, even if no one else sees it.

To sum it all up, unfortunately imposter syndrome will never fully disappear, it’s just part of the creative process.  But if we can recognise it for what it is, a complete an utter head fuck, then maybe we can stop letting it dictate our creative worth.

We aren’t imposters.  We are just people who care deeply about what we do.  And that is exactly why we need to keep going and keep creating.

Thank you for reading,

Ax