The last time I struggled with “imposter syndrome” was two weeks ago, when I was trying to sew a stripe onto my kid’s karate belt.
“Make sure it’s on your belt the next time you come to class,” said his teacher. “You can sew it on or tape it on.”
Sew it on??!! I started sweating. The next class was in two days, and the closest thing to sewing I’d ever done was threading a paper clip through the empty hole on my khakis when my button fell off.
I couldn’t tape it. “A stay-at-home mom would sew that stripe on in minutes,” I thought. I imagined my son jumping into his first stance at the next class and watching in horror as his stripe fell to the ground alongside the two wads of duct tape I used to secure it in place. I could almost hear all the moms smirking.
But when I spent three hours on a Friday stabbing myself and watching my tiny stitches unravel over and over again, I felt a primal desire to flee.
Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this.
It was my old friend, Imposter Syndrome, trying to trick me into quitting. I resisted and, after a couple more hours of YouTube, a few more teaspoons of blood, and a half a dozen cuss words, the stripe was secured.
According to Very Well Mind, “imposter syndrome is the internal psychological experience of feeling like a phony in some area of your life, despite any success that you have achieved in that area.” I’ve had Aerospace Engineer Imposter Syndrome, New Manager Imposter Syndrome, and New Dad Imposter Syndrome. I’ve been the Ted Lasso of 5U AYSO Soccer. And after nearly three years as a stay-at-home dad, I’ve now triumphantly added sewing to my long list of domestic tasks I once felt like an imposter doing, like cooking, shopping at Michael’s, and making eye contact with other parents at school pick-up. I am an expert at being an imposter.
So, take it from me: life is too short for imposter syndrome. I push my kids to try new things and I encourage them to be ok with being bad at them. “That’s the quickest way to learn,” I hear myself say while I’m secretly ashamed that the backpack strap I repaired with my new sewing skills lasted exactly 0.5 days.
What I didn’t expect was that imposter syndrome could infiltrate my hobbies too. What started as an innocent attempt at scratching a long-standing creative writing itch led to this blog. I only updated it when I felt that I had the perfect story.
I didn’t update it much.
That was a mistake. You never know where a bunch of courageous, hard work by an imposter might lead. While I was failing at blogging, I tried something different: Imposter Country Music Writing. My resistance to imposter syndrome led to 92 articles about country music at WhiskeyRiff.com, a country music website I’d never heard of but that recently accepted a minority investment from Nashville stalwart Opry Entertainment Group. Not bad for an Imposter Country Music Writer.
I love writing, but perfectionism and imposter syndrome get in my way. It’s hard to hit “publish.” So, I’m thankful that Whiskey Riff hit “publish” for me 92 times last year. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this, but Whiskey Riff gave me the validation I needed to keep trying. They helped me stay accountable at getting my writing reps in. And they gave me 92 pieces of writing that I am proud of, even if some of them make the improved writer in me cringe a little upon further review.
I should’ve given myself more space and freedom to experiment and to explore the craft of writing from the beginning. I should’ve allowed myself to be bad at blogging, like I encourage my kids to be bad at everything they’re trying for the first time.
And, apparently, I should’ve been a cowboy. Because I love writing about country music.
I read through my Whiskey Riff articles and came up with my top 20 favorites from 2022, linked below if you want to see what I was up to last year while not blogging. If 20 is not enough for you, bless your heart and you can read my full digest here.
And if you want to stay up to date (on my country music writings or my sewing exploits), subscribe to my blog or follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
I’m still writing for Whiskey Riff, because being an Imposter Country Music Writer was, and still is, one of the most fun and rewarding experiences of my life. It’s where I finally resisted the toxic influence Imposter Syndrome held over my writing.
Turns out, all I had to do was hit “publish” a little more often.
If you’ve been following my Whiskey Riffin’, let me know if you had a favorite. It makes my day when I hear that people actually read this stuff. Giddy up.
1. Dear Shania Twain, I’m A Stay-At-Home Dad With A Minivan & A Dad Bod… Impressed Yet?
2. With Apologies To Zach Bryan, “Open The Gate” Is My Kid’s Pump-Up Song For Potty Training
3. Kids Say the Darnedest Things… Until They Ruin Your Favorite Cody Johnson Song
4. Thanks To My Toddler’s Love Of ‘Cars 3,’ I Now Hate Brad Paisley
5. This Easter, The Koe Wetzel Bunny Visited My Kid’s Preschool… And My Nightmares
6. A Trip To The Lake Is A Country Music Song Waiting To Happen…Even When Your Kid Barfs And Things Go To Pieces
7. My Toddler’s Rendition Of Hardy’s “Boots” Will Fire You Up, Even If You Wake Up On The Wrong Side Of The Crib
8. “Daddy, The Mountains Are Blue!” Thanks To Luke Combs, My Preschooler Thinks “Ice-Cold-Beer” Is One Word, As It Should Be
9. “You Are My Sunshine” Is Back In My Sad Country Lullaby Rotation Thanks To Zach Bryan
10. Make Dad Cry With These 14 Country Songs For Your Father’s Day Mixtape
11. Why “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” Is The Perfect Lullaby For Your Bouncing Baby Cowboy
12. The Essence Of Dad Life In 10 Country Songs
13. The Bedtime Routine Was My Purgatory Until My Kid Started Singing Luke Combs’ “Cold as You” Last Night and Changed Everything
14. My Toddler Told Me “I Don’t Love You” Thanks To Koe Wetzel
15. 10 Fiddle & Steel-Heavy Country Songs To Perfectly Drown Out Your Kids’ Screaming On The Family Road Trip
16. The Soundtrack To Floating The River With Young Kids… & Not Losing Your Mind
17. All My 4-Year-Old Wants To Do Is Drink A Beer With His Buddies & Perhaps I’m Not Fit To Be A Parent After All
18. Inspired By The Tight Pants Of Jason Aldean At The ACMs, My Dadbod Will Wear Jeans Again In 2022
19. 10 Country Lullabies for Degenerate Parents: If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me, Your Bedtime Routine Will
20. Signed, Sober You: An Open Letter To My Responsible Dad Self Before I Head To Stagecoach & Make Countless Bad Decisions
*Blog photo by Luis Zambrano on Pexels.com
I love it all!! Your writing is so good!!