The Accomplished Creative: Overcome Imposter Syndrome, Forge Courage, and Tap Into Limitless Creativity

by Jeremy Richards

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. –Carl Rogers

I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being. –Hafiz

In your inner employment office, why is the critic always the first and only hire? Further back in line you’ll also find an inner champion, an inner river guide, an inner referee, and an inner jester. It’s like a sitcom in there, and there’s a whole season of antics you might be missing. If you’re the showrunner in this scenario, you have more power than you realize, and you can hire, fire, or recast your show at any time.

Consider your interface with your doubts like an empathetic debate with a trusted friend—contemporary neuroscience tells us that pushing back stubbornly won’t persuade anyone. To that end, the term I’ve coined is the inner guard, because a guard can be both your protector and your jailor.

Social media trains us to jut our chins out for the flimsiest convictions, like, “The moon is a cancelled parade. Don’t @ me.” (I know that no one says “don’t @ me” anymore, and when they did, it was like, Ha ha, imagine if I brook no dissent for THIS, that I would die on this hill. RIP me. I’m dead.) But there’s something in that @, a spiral gate that no one can enter. We all want attention and we all have our guards up in case that attention comes.