The Blog of Steve Schwartz: No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")

Feeling Like a Fraud

Have you ever received praise, or even an award, for being great at something despite having no clue what you’re doing? Do you feel like a fraud, wondering what sort of voodoo you’ve unwittingly conjured up to make people think you know what you’re doing, when the…

Hurrah Impostor Syndrome! I was just in counselling yesterday and we talked about how I had described myself as having low self-esteem - how I find it hard to say “oh yeah I’m good at that” when “that” is something subjective like performing or writing. I feel like people don’t like others that say “oh yeah I am totally good at performing”; also, I don’t think I’ve had enough experience and expertise to really know that for myself yet.

But what is self-esteem anyway?