That’s the advice.

Startups love it.

Personal brands swear by it.

Self-help repeats it.

Fake it till you make it.

Please don’t.

Flimsy logic for real fear.

Intention grounded in feeling not action.

Faking it doesn’t exist.

I am doing it.

Or I’m not.

How I feel doesn’t change that.

It might not feel good.

I might not feel ready.

If I’m showing up,

I’m not faking it.

I’m practicing.

I’m stretching.

I’m developing.

Imposter syndrome?

It’s not a syndrome.

It’s a feeling.

How many other feelings are

misdiagnosed as syndromes?

That’s a better question for a better post.

The feeling shows up

when I’m doing something

my confidence hasn’t caught up to me

yet.

That’s not faking it.

That’s development.

If I hit too many home runs in a row.

I am playing in the wrong league.

If I feel too good, for too long,

I am probably too comfortable.

A nice way of saying I am coasting.

I don’t need to fake anything.

I need to tell the truth:

I’m doing something

I don’t feel ready for.

I’m doing it anyway.

That’s not faking it.

That’s making it.

That’s living in a post-survival world.

That’s what developing feels like.