Imposter Syndrome & Spirituality

Imposter syndrome in the spiritual community is something I have found to be very common. Personally I attribute this to societal norms on what is acceptable and what is taboo. Despite the substantial growth in spiritual practices over the last decade worldwide, it seems people are still having a hard time fully embracing their own gifts. At first I thought this may only be true for older generations (millennials, generation x, boomers) but I have met generation z spiritualists with the same feelings. This revelation takes me back to the dark history spirituality and intuitive gifts has. Heretics and Witch hunts on those gifted and others just caught in the cross hairs. I feel deeply that these generational scars of pain are what has plagued our minds with the idea that we really aren’t as gifted as we are. We get into the mindset of, “well maybe I am just crazy?” or “maybe I am just making this all up with my imagination?” Only to later be reassured by others time after time that what we’re are experiencing is something else, and it special and profound. 

It’s an interesting balance because I do find those whom are almost overly confident in their abilities. I often wonder if they too went through periods of self doubt? What was different in their upbringing or environment that possibly allowed them to bypass these feels as a whole? Do they actually feel the exact same way but do a better job at hiding it? These are all questions I find myself pondering on during times of my own self doubt.

I didn’t always have these feelings. Even when I hid away my gifts from others it wasn’t out of lack of confidence in my own ability but out of fear of being ostracized. It wasn’t until I started dating my spouse, whom is extremely logical by nature, that I found myself doubting myself more. Changing myself to better mold into what I thought would be more accepting of him. I want to note he never once told me this was something I needed to do. In fact when I finally started to rediscover myself several years ago, he reminded me that spiritual side of myself was a big reason he fell in love with me. So it wasn’t of his own fault, but my own judgements of on how I felt he perceived me. 

Ultimately, my own worries in love and acceptance lead me to adopt imposter syndrome. Even though I am several years into rediscovering my own gifts and honing in on my skill I still have many moments of anxiety and doubt. I find myself catching my tongue because “this sounds crazy” when the thoughts themselves were actually spot on. 

So how do we relearn to trust ourselves? How do we get to the point where we no longer feel like imposters in our own gifts? Is the answer the same for those who have always felt imposters and for those who lost themselves along the way? Is it as easier for those who lost themselves along the way to rediscover the confidence? Or does having lost it in the first place create an extra barrier of doubt that needs to be overcome? 

I don’t have the answers for you, but I am constantly learning to better trust myself again. Day by day, I try to remold myself from self deprecating phrases to confident affirmations of this is what it is and I stand by it.

Sometimes we just have to believe in ourselves. Be our own biggest fan. Confidence and believing in our own selves and own abilities is our cure to healing these generational scars. We have all the power from within, we just have to give ourselves grace and learn how to tap into it.