Imposter Syndrome Is an Imposter

Are you a Writer? 

What’s your immediate answer, when I ask that question? Is it a resounding “YES!”? Or a quieter, “Well, maybe… sort of…” or even “Not yet, because…”

If, like me, you’ve set your writing goals for the year, it’s important to start the year off with the right mindset, and foremost is thinking about our identities as writers. I’ve been considering this more often lately because I’ve been doing a lot more writing, in more forms, than I ever have before. I’ve had to conceive of my writing in a new way, and also as a new identity. I’m more public than I’ve ever been. No longer is it a mostly private practice, shared with a few trusted writing friends. My career pivot into full-time book coaching, writing, teaching, and editing has meant a new identity shift. In committing to weekly blog posts, and starting a publication on Medium, and having plans for expansion of my writing on other publications and forums, I need to think about writing not just as a private activity where I am only accountable to me. I need to show up every day and write, and post, and submit to other places. This means prioritizing my writing in new ways. It has to be my focus – the main thing I get done every day, with everything else coming after. 

In other words, I am shifting my identity to that of a professional writer. 

I don’t have the writing income to consider that my full-time profession – and maybe I never will, hence the mix of activities that I pursue to earn a living. But I am taking my writing, in all its forms, more seriously than ever before. I am a Writer. 

What is your definition of “Writer?” Is it earning a full-time living from writing? Having a published book? Having other people call you a writer? Doing the work, day in and day out, as a vocation, even if you are not paid? 

Only you get to decide.  

Do you write, on a regular basis? Is it an important part of your life? If you never write, or only every few weeks or months, do you consider yourself a writer? It might still be a part of your identity, even when you are not actively doing it. 

This is the tricky part. The more you write, the more you reinforce your identity as a Writer. If you want to think of yourself as a Writer but rarely, if ever, put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), you will eventually hit a cognitive dissonance that causes you to feel shame, which will make you even less likely to write, or at least write consistently. If you only think of one kind of writing as “real” or “important” and everything else as “not real writing, therefore I’m not a real Writer,” you will probably end up stuck, always feeling like the “Writer” label is just out of reach. 

But why is it so important? You may ask. What does it matter what I call myself, as long as I do the work? 

Yes, it’s most important to actually do the writing. However, having the identity of “I am a Writer” makes it much more likely that you will follow through with action. If your identity is “Writer” then it becomes more natural for you to sit down and do it. 

All of us have many identities. “Writer” may not be the predominant one. It might be “Mother” or “Teacher” or “Insurance broker”. However, each identity we have holds its place in the hierarchy. If you don’t consciously place “Writer” as one of your identities, it will remain in the realm of a hobby, something you do when you have time or feel inclined. Consciously deciding “I am a Writer” makes something click in our brains. Writing no longer becomes an optional, when-I-feel-like-it activity. It becomes integrated into a sense of Self. In that sense, it becomes a self-perpetuating loop: the more you write, the more you think of yourself as a Writer; the more you think of yourself as a Writer, the more you write… 

In other words, our self-concepts, the words we use to describe ourselves, have a powerful impact on our actions. Numerous studies have borne this out. In one, children who were asked to be “helpers” instead of “to help” were more likely to clean up toys when asked. In another, adults who were primed by being told “don’t be a cheater” cheated 50% less than those who were told “Please don’t cheat.” Yet another suggested that identity development enhances student motivation to learn as well as long-term persistence and achievement in STEM fields (this study specifically focused on the importance of mentoring as a factor in promoting identity, motivation, and persistence – something that, as a book coach, intrigued me immensely). 

If it works on budding scientists, young children, and adults tempted to cheat, it will likely work on you too. Try identifying yourself as a Writer. See if it prompts you to write more, and take your writing more seriously. What other benefits might it have in your life? 

If you suffer from imposter syndrome when calling yourself a writer, remember this: Imposter syndrome is an imposter. It tells you something that is not true. It tells you that you are not good enough, not a real writer, not worthy of being called one. Don’t believe it. What makes you a Writer is your writing. Incorporate Writer into your identity, and do more writing. Voilà: You’re a Writer.

Works cited:

Bryan, C., Master, A., & Walton, G. (2014). “Helping” Versus “Being a Helper”: Invoking the Self to Increase Helping in Young Children. Child Development, 85 (5), 1836-1842. 

Guo, W., et. al. (2020). How Subtle Linguistic Cues Prevent Unethical Behavior. F1000Research, Vol 9 (2020), online.

Hernandez, P.R., et. al. (2017). Promoting professional identity, motivation, and persistence: Benefits of an informal mentoring program for female undergraduate students. PLoS ONE, 12 (11), 1-16.