BreakThrough - Organismic Involvement

Ironically, the imposter syndrome is associated with the most highly successful, high-achievers out there! They're performing a function and performing it well, but there's some mismatch between their actual level of competence and how they feel about what they're doing.

Even if it doesn't rise to the level of a condition that has a clinical name, this sense of being an imposter is a pretty common experience. Have you ever felt it? Are you feeling it currently?

If you're fairly new at what you do, it's understandable. After all, people start out in any field of endeavor a bit green and it's only through education and experience that we master our craft. Most people grow into their role and feel more and more confident and competent as they gain experience and enjoy some success, but some continue to struggle with the idea that they don't belong. If you're one of them, give yourself a break or maybe even seek some coaching or counseling. You're being way too hard on yourself.

We once had a professor who taught a class called Communication Roles and Contexts. His idea was that there are three levels of involvement we can exhibit in whatever role we've taken on in our lives, especially a major role, like the work we do.

At first we play the role or play at the role. The role doesn't define who we are, at least not yet. It's something we're doing or attempting to do. We're like the actress who "acts like" the character she's assigned to play. It's easy to feel like an imposter at this level ... and, if you're in the wrong field for you, maybe you'll never shake this feeling. But don't assume that just because you sometimes feel as if you don't belong in the beginning, that it means you truly don't belong.

As we mature in our experience and our commitment to our profession, we take the role. It's not only what we do, but who we are. We think of ourselves as being defined by the role. We can honestly say, I'm a _______________ and not feel inauthentic. Like an actor who identifies with and "owns" the character.

Finally, there's a level of involvement in a role where you're so totally into it, so animated by it, that it takes over who you are. Like a method actor who loses him or herself in the character, who "becomes" the character in every way. When you're in that role, it represents being truly alive for you. It's your reason for being.

The professor called that level organismic involvement. That's what you were looking for when you went out to find your place in the world, isn't it?

You wanted to do something that not only lit you up but wrapped you up, something that not only inspired you, but took hold of you, something that expressed who you are in a way that involved your whole being ... physical, emotional, and intellectual ... and put you in "the zone."

That's the place where you feel your personal power manifesting itself in a commanding way, even though it sometimes feels like you're on a kind of intuitive autopilot. That's the flow you get into when you're making the highest use of your talents and skills, doing the thing you love.

Sounds good, huh? But remember, you don't get there without passing through the first two levels. It's a natural evolution. The bottom line is that it's okay to feel a little inauthentic in the beginning. It's hard to feel like a full-fledged experienced professional when you don't have much experience. But that doesn't invalidate what you do have to offer now and it doesn't say anything about what you can become.

There's an old expression, "You gotta fake it till you make it." The truth of the matter is that you wouldn't be doing what you're doing if you weren't qualified, so "faking it" is an exaggeration, but we endorse the basic concept. Let's just word it differently.

Act "as if ..." When you feel self-doubt or any lack of worthiness, act as if. Act as if you're more experienced. Act as if you're confident. Act as if you belong. It's not cheating. In fact, we think it's a necessary and vital element of being able to transition from playing a role to taking it to becoming involved in it with your whole being.

Can you do it? Can you just act as if? Sure you can. Millions of people who are somewhere short of being completely masterful in their work do it every day. That doesn't mean they're imposters. It's means they're masters in the making.

The trick is to allow yourself to be one too.