I wanted to talk about something that I've been dealing with myself which is called impostor syndrome. Impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern in which one doubts one's accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".  What does this mean for me?  I know that I have this whole series that I want to focus on but this spoke to my heart and I've been dealing with this recently and I was like if I'm dealing with this right now there's someone else that is dealing with this too so let me take a break from what I had scheduled to touch base on this.  

People with impostor syndrome tendencies have low self-confidence and a fear of failure. They experience a constant internal struggle between achieving success and avoiding being “found out.” This struggle prevents many with the condition from reaching their potential.  [https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321730]  

It's hard to get out of your own head especially when you've been conditioned to think that you're not good enough or when you go on social media and you see other people doing something that you think is 10 times better than what you do. It is hard to be like “oh I'm a really good artist”, or “oh, I’m really great at marketing my business...” especially when you have never had that reinforcement growing up. Now, I'm not saying that my parents are to blame for all of my life choices and my issues, however; when you're raising a child and if you're not being their biggest supporter and cheerleader from day one but all you do is tell them that they’re not good enough, smart enough or talented enough they keep that same energy and mentality as an adult.

 Then that same adult looks at other people’s work and they are like “Damn, I wish I was good enough”.  That is me…I am the adult in this scenario.  I constantly compare my company to other online boutiques and I constantly say, “I wish my boutique was as successful as theirs”.  The difference between me and other boutiques is that I am not them.  My boutique is not selling what they have, and my customers are the same as their customers. So why am I not out here blasting my business every chance I get?  It is because every time I go to click that ‘publish post’ button on social media, I hesitate.  I keep thinking: “they don't give a crap about what I'm doing, they don't give a crap about what I'm selling, and they don't like my merchandise”.  But someone has to care because if you look behind the scenes and you look at the numbers… clearly, they do care. They are buying my merchandise and they are supporting me in more ways than one.  So why am I the only one holding myself back?

 So now I have to think how to reverse psychology myself? How do I not have that negative feeling and anxious feeling in my gut before I make a post about my business? I could/should be so much further than I am right now if I was not so hesitant to promote my own self.  So now we have to think about how we get out of that mindset, how do we instead of double guessing ourselves, we just do it.  So, I am challenging myself and you within the month of July to just do it: make the post, record the video, promote your business every change you get.   Worst case scenario people do not want to see what we are posting, and they unfollow us.  OK, good.  They were not meant to be our lives anyways.  Best case scenario is we find out who is actually there for us and who actually supports us.

We want to make sure that we have the right people in our lives that support us because what will happen next will be a domino effect.   So, you make a post promoting your business or service.  And your friend who may not need what you're selling/serving shares it on their page and someone they are friends with needs what you are offering.  That friend of a friend then books you or purchases from you and then they promote your business to their friends.  And that continues and next thing that you know is that there are new people in your life that you've never met  or would have never had as a client/customer if you never made that post/video/promoted your business. This goes out to every type of business or service too. If you have an online boutique if you are a Blogger if you are a photographer or makeup artist or even a hair stylist. If you are holding yourself back and you are scared to promote yourself, you are risking not reaching people who actually need you in their life.

So I'm challenging all of you who have impostor syndrome to just do it! Put that post out and do it consistently like don't be scared to double post in one day, don't be scared to promote your business when you have a promotion going on like just sharing the crap out of yourself because you are your biggest supporter.  You have to be your biggest cheerleader no matter what happened in your past or who told you would never amount to anything.  Just remind yourself that you know that you are the SHIT and you need to promote yourself like you are the shit! 

So, I challenge you like I am challenging myself to get out of our heads this month and promote what we do best!!!!