Many young filmmakers I have interacted with lately bring up the infamous imposter syndrome. My question for you Stage 32 nation is .... "What advice would you give a young creative in order for them to overcome imposter syndrome?"
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Oh, wow, Luis, what an AWESOME question. My advice would be to look inward. Separate your feelings from fact. Do you believe in yourself? Do you feel that pull that makes you NEED to create? If so, the only person you have to answer to is yourself. And, no matter WHAT you create - it could be filming a candle burning for 20 minutes - it's beautiful because it came from your mind and what's in your mind DESERVES to be seen. We're not imposters, we're artists. And, with artists, there are no rule books.
I know more than a few professionals that bring up that imposter syndrome as well LOL
Advice? Hmm... remember what you bring to the table. And not just a store-bought baked good that you dump on the table and wait for someone to pick at it, but what did you bake yourself and start to serve out to every passerby. I'm not sure if the analogy makes sense, but here's an example. The last time I was on set, I was enlisted because I pride myself on being attentive. No one had to ask me to be attentive, I just offered it. It even became the reason I had to push back on decisions being made by others. Bringing your best in the service of the project is all anyone can ever hope for.
Keep in mind that everything and everyone in Ho Ho Wood is fake. Go the indie route and follow your heart in search of your dream.
Intensive ongoing focus on craft and work and productivity in your individual pursuits will crowd out those counterproductive thoughts (check out the book Deep Work by Cal Newport, it basically just says work constantly in solitude and ignore everything else, this way we practice crowding out distractions by relentless focus on the craft).
Envision yourself and your work as superlative, you are the Olympic athlete of what you do and your responsibility is to train and practice and serve your self and your craft, only later do you need to collaborate, let people come to you on your terms.
Be joyful and optimistic, check out NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), basically immersion in ongoing positive language and affirmations; connect and communicate only with people who are relentlessly uplifting and helpful.
Quantity begets Quality; be as prolific as you can possibly be and then later sift through and edit and critique your own work.
Rather than ruminating or harboring confusing or counterproductive thoughts or self-criticism, just work and create as if your life depended upon it. Because it does. It's your life.
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I embrace imposter syndrome - I know I'm an imposter, in that I'm not all that and never will be.
I feel like I have a very clear perception of who and what I am and what I'm not (although I do deceive myself occasionally).
So any accomplishments I achieve are greeted with supreme gratitude, a ton of humility, a little disbelief, and a drive to get better.
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Luis, this is a wonderful question. To anyone struggling with imposter syndrome, I would coach them to stop looking outwardly for their affirmation and instead to look inward. When we let other people's standards affect our identity, it is easy to slip down the slippery slope of imposter syndrome.
However, when we focus our attention on not only our own path and goals, but also on what only we can control, then imposter syndrome ceases to exist. If you are actively writing a screenplay because it is your own person goal, then you are a writer. Period. End of conversation.
The mistake is to construct our personal identities with the tools of others.
Love this share! Thank you!