Yesterday I drove down to Bastrop, Texas to give a talk on the social media marketing landscape in 2019 for the @bastropchamberofcommerce. I always love giving talks, but this one was especially fun because I went live for a minute or two right in the middle of the talk on our Instagram account for @roadwarriorwp. I wanted to show people how easy it is and that it doesn’t have to be scripted or perfectly planned – I had only decided to do it in the morning on the drive down there.
I’ve been thinking about this personal account of mine lately, and how I don’t put much effort into it. Historically, I don’t even log into Instagram or post on a daily basis…there were many weeks and months in the past year when I didn’t post at all. Some of this is because I spend so much time thinking about social media for our clients that I get burnt out on it. And there’s also this pressure or feeling that I have to “do it right” because I am an expert who advises others on how to manage their own presence. Like I’m afraid that if I don’t do it “right,” with the perfect feed and visuals, people will no longer listen to my advice… Which my brain knows is silly, but I still worry about anyway. How is it that nearly 10 years into this business I can still struggle with #impostersyndrome?
I decided this week that I am going to be more purposeful with my personal Instagram, at least through the end of the summer, and I’m going to have FUN doing it. I’m not going to worry so much about perfection; I’m going to experiment and play around in ways that I’m not always free to do on client profiles. And I’m going to do it all with the intention of fighting the imposter syndrome that previously held me back.
We’ll see in August how setting the intention (and a SMART goal, LOL) helps. At the very least, I’ll hopefully do a better job of documenting our summer travels than I did last year.
Do you ever experience imposter syndrome in your life or career? What have you found that helps?
