Feeling Like an Imposter (But Doing It Anyway)

Imposter syndrome. That lovely little voice in your head that whispers, "Who do you think you are?"

It's something I've been thinking about quite a lot lately.

In my sound bath and wellbeing world, I've been quietly finding my feet. I've done the training, completed courses, invested in instruments, continued learning and developing my knowledge, and I've been running sound baths for a while now.

And yet, there's still that little voice.

Am I good enough? Do I know enough? Who am I to put myself out there?

The funny thing is, I absolutely love what I do. I love creating a space where people can switch off for an hour, relax and simply be. I love exploring sound, learning about the instruments and discovering how different sounds can affect our experiences.

But promoting myself? That's a whole different story.

I'm not particularly good at putting myself forward, asking for opportunities or shouting about what I offer.

I'd much rather quietly get on with things and hope people somehow discover me.

Which, let's face it, isn't exactly the greatest business strategy! 😂

And I'm not entirely sure how to change that.

Then There's My Dance World...

I've been belly dancing for 16 years now.

I attend events, perform regularly and absolutely love being part of the dance community.

Do I think I'm good enough?

Hell no!

But do I get up there and do it anyway?

Absolutely.

Somewhere along the way, I've learnt to stop worrying quite so much about whether I'm the best dancer in the room.

Because I'm not trying to be.

I dance because I enjoy it. Because it makes me happy. Because of the friendships, the laughter, the community and those moments when the music takes over and everything else disappears.

That's not to say the doubts have gone away. They're still there, occasionally having a right old party in my head.

But I've learnt not to let them stop me.

And perhaps that's the bit I need to bring into my sound bath world.

Why Is It So Hard to Believe in Ourselves?

It's strange, isn't it?

We can see the talent, passion and potential in other people so clearly.

We encourage our friends, celebrate their achievements and tell them to go for it.

But when it comes to ourselves?

Suddenly, we're questioning everything.

We compare ourselves to people who seem more experienced, more confident, more successful or simply better at putting themselves out there.

We forget that everyone started somewhere.

And that we don't have to know everything to have something worthwhile to offer.

I'm always learning. I hope I always will be.

But perhaps I need to stop treating that as evidence that I'm not ready.

Maybe Confidence Isn't What I Thought It Was

Perhaps confidence isn't about believing you're brilliant at something.

Maybe it's about being willing to do it even when you're not entirely convinced.

It's about showing up, giving it your best and accepting that you might not get everything right.

I do that in dance.

I get on stage, improvise, occasionally wonder what on earth I'm doing, and usually come off smiling.

So why does putting myself forward as a sound bath practitioner feel so much harder?

I haven't quite worked that one out yet.

So, Where Do I Go From Here?

I don't have a magical answer.

I'm not suddenly going to become someone who confidently approaches every opportunity, promotes herself at every turn and tells the world how wonderful she is.

That's just not me.

But maybe I can start taking little steps.

Maybe I can share more of what I do, talk about what I'm learning and allow myself to be seen.

Maybe I can stop waiting until I feel completely ready.

Because if I'm waiting for that, I might be waiting forever!

And perhaps the biggest thing I need to remember is that enjoying what I do, caring about what I offer and continuing to learn are all worth something.

I don't need to be the best.

I don't need to have all the answers.

And I certainly don't need to pretend I've got everything figured out.

I just need to keep showing up.

Imposter syndrome might still be coming along for the ride, but perhaps it's time I stopped letting it drive.

And if any of this sounds familiar, maybe you're figuring it out too.

💜

Donna

Ovenden Creations & Wellness