If you’ve ever second guessed your skills or wondered if you are truly competent at your job, you may be struggling with impostor syndrome. It’s the chronic self-doubt and inability to internalize your success in spite of massive evidence of it.

It’s related to self-confidence but in an oblique way. In Jay Shetty’s Feb. 16, 2024 podcast, “On Purpose with Jay Shetty” titled, “Three Ways to Build Inner Confidence,” he explained a difference between Inner Confidence and Outer Confidence, which are both rooted in our need for validation.

Inner confidence is the desire to BE better. It comes from our own internal validation based in genuinely wanting to improve yourself, not for the sake of others’ approval, but for your own satisfaction and growth. Outer confidence is the desire to BE SEEN as better and comes from external validation, the human desire to be acknowledged and esteemed by others. It’s about presenting oneself in a way that generates approval and admiration from the external world.

How is this related to impostor syndrome?

Suppose you accomplished something big. Maybe you lost a lot of weight, or secured a really big client contract, or won a big competition. The work to do it was grueling! It required a combination of talent, skill, perseverance, circumstance, timing, intelligence, coaching, research, discipline, and all sorts of other factors. People celebrate and congratulate you and it feels terrific! External validation begets outer confidence, which feels really nice…for a short time.

However, this outer confidence can completely replace and even silence the internal validation and the self-congratulatory words we speak to ourselves. This uplifting self-talk is the impetus for driving the intentional work we do to pursue self-awareness and personal growth. But it’s silenced because it’s easier to bask in external validation than dig deep to develop our internal validation.

Here’s the problem: as time passes, the external validation goes silent because the victory was either so far in the rearview mirror, or the ongoing success behavior has become so much a part of your identity that you’re just seen as normally competent. Nobody praises a teenager for the act of walking, even though at age one it was cause for celebration. Even if it takes a lot of work to do that same thing—to maintain or repeat the success—nobody really knows how hard it is to do it other than you, the person who actually did it.

In the absence of external validation, the internal self-talk goes wonky and defaults to a negative script. “I must not be that special! I can’t do this! I’ve lost my touch! I’m not qualified!” It’s not a news flash to know that negative self-talk creates a negative self-image. Internal confidence takes a massive hit.

The solution is to create your own internal validation script and pursue your internal confidence through revisiting your success stories. Celebrate your own victories. Recognize your own wins. Acknowledge your own talents and skills. Be consciously aware of how you’ve grown, improved, and excelled beyond what you were in the past. It seems so trite to say don’t compare yourself to others, but only to your previous self. Yet, it’s a critical element to embracing your value and worth.

For women in the printing industry, where innovation and excellence are the norms, it’s especially important to cultivate this internal validation. The print world is fast-paced and competitive, often leaving little time to reflect on your accomplishments before the next challenge arises. Without a strong internal validation script, the absence of constant external praise can leave you feeling less capable than you truly are.

Developing your inner confidence comes from a desire to improve, learn, and try hard things. Explore, be curious, take risks, do something different. And then, regardless of the outcome, pat yourself on the back for trying it.

In my keynote for the Women in Print Alliance, I will talk about “Pushing the Envelope” of your own expectations. So often we fail to push a limit because we don’t realize that most limits really aren’t limits. They’re fake boundaries WE created in the absence of external validation from others. By focusing on internal validation and personal development, you can build a strong foundation of internal confidence that isn’t easily shaken by external factors—or the lack of them.

Commit to celebrating your victories, acknowledging your growth, and constantly pushing the envelope of your capabilities. It’s through this lens of self-recognition and internal validation that you can truly overcome impostor syndrome and step into your power with genuine confidence, bold assurance and unbridled optimism.