Whether you believe in imposter syndrome or not, there is always a time in your career where you look around and think, “I have no clue what I am doing.”
None of us do. We simply fake it until we make it.
You’re doing just fine. And here’s proof:
You care.
About what, and how, you are doing. It may not be your passion, or your forever job, but you genuinely care about your output. Even more important, you care what your boss thinks of the work you do. Even if you don’t stay in this position, or with this company long, your work ethic matters. Trust me, it doesn’t go unnoticed – good or bad.
You’ve gained confidence.
As we get older, we mature. With that maturity comes a new confidence in your personal life. There is also something that happens when you are in a position and a career that you enjoy: Your self-worth increases. Knowing you are doing something, large or small, that is making an impact on your company (or in the world) gives you a sense of pride in your work. You start to value your own opinion.
You enjoy Mondays.
That dreaded first day of the week, the one that interrupts the weekend, Monday. Your coworkers are complaining while they get their fourth cup of coffee, but you’re excited to be back at work. Not in the obnoxious way that makes everyone else in the office hate you, but in a sense that you get to create something new another week. You love the smell of possibility in the morning.
You create your own workload.
Instead of being assigned tasks, you’re the one creating new projects to add to your to-do list. You’re the one who sees a problem and seeks out the answer, even before your boss has seen it. That’s not to say you aren’t a team player who won’t take on an assigned task, but you’re busy enough initiating ideas that your boss doesn’t have to worry about giving you more work.
Time flies.
Not because you have so much work to do and not enough hours in the day to do them, but because the day passes too quickly. “They” always say that time passes more quickly when you aren’t bored. By time 5 p.m. rolls around you rarely feel like you just worked an entire day. If you’ve experienced the opposite in other jobs, you know just how amazing this is.
You’re clutter-free.
You are organized in mind and in desk. When you arrive at work you get in a zone and stay there. You don’t allow yourself to get distracted easily, even when coworkers seem to be having scooter races passed your desk. You never seem to have a post-it note out of place and your calendar and notes are all color-coded. Your coworkers always want to know your “secret.”
You are unique.
You have a unique skill set that adds to your team and office dynamic. You are not only sought after for your knowledge, but people listen to you and value your opinions and ideas. More than idea-sharing, you create your own job security. If you see a sigh of relief when you get back from vacation, trust that no one else can do your job quite like you.
You don’t need a pat on the back, or a raise to know that you are doing good work. Trust your work, but ask for feedback when you are finished with projects if you need the reassurance. Remember, if you have to fake it for a while, your coworkers, and even your manager, have had to fake it too.
