How We Know It's You

I saw a meme yesterday that said, "All the wrong people have impostor syndrome."

It got me thinking.

You are not a fake, a fraud, or a fluke. You are not about to be "found out."

You are not pulling the wool over anyone's eyes. (Think about the disrespect for others this implies - as if people aren't able to see and discern for themselves what's real, what's trustworthy.)

We hear the words "claim" and "own" a lot in the coaching-y world. So much that they lose their meaning, like when you say "banana" 20 times in a row and it becomes nothing but sound.

But really - why do we shy away from confidence? Why do we feel the need to discredit ourselves? Whatever you have spent years learning, practicing, exploring, teaching, reading and writing about, developing -- these become you.

They become you. They are the garments you wear in the world. These are how we know it's YOU when you walk into a room.

Why doesn't the naked emperor have impostor syndrome, the one who really IS deceitful? Because he is so deluded about his grandeur that he thinks we will be deluded, too.

Questioning what we have to offer, doubting authenticity when it's right before our very eyes, serves no purpose but to dim your light.

Live your truth. Walk in the knowledge, the colors, the fabrics, the values, the vocabularies, the stories that you have spent a lifetime growing into.

The world really, really needs this from you, from each of us, and now is all we've got.