How to Break Imposter Syndrome with Unique Design

Imposter syndrome sneaks into my heart with good intentions and good ideas.

The problem isn’t that they aren’t good, it’s that they aren’t God’s design for me.

I get so caught up in trying to be what others are thinking that it will get me to where I want to be that I lose me.

Have you ever lost you?

Imposter Syndrome – It’s A Trap

I wanted to be like her.

Not, that’s not quite true. I really wanted to BE her.

Perfectly polished. Perfect hair. Perfect branding. And a powerful impact.

The more I followed her, the more I wanted to be her.

So, I tried.
I bought the fancy editing software.
I filmed my own event.
I followed her “proven” steps.

But no matter what I did, it wasn’t enough.

I wasn’t enough. Or that’s how I felt. The more I tried to be her, the more behind I fell . . . until I fell flat on my face.

“Give up! You aren’t going to get there.”

It didn’t help that with every fail, jealousy taunted me. And the harder I failed, the more I doubted. I began to believe I wasn’t enough.

That’s the trap of imposter syndrome. Because you are so invested in being something that’s not you, you lose you and doubt all that you are supposed to be.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t enough—it was that I wasn’t her.

When I stopped chasing someone else’s path and stepped fully into mine, everything became lighter—and a whole lot easier.

Why Do We Try to Be THEY?

I have never been normal. When other girls wanted to be princesses, I wanted to be a cowgirl. Actually, I wanted to be a cowboy and ride the broncos. I played football with boys in the neighborhood and could climb anything you put in front of me.

When I started secondary school, I leaned into my uniqueness. But not for the reasons you might think.

I had tried to fall into line. I tried to play the game. I tried to be like everyone else and it blew up in my face.

So I went all in to being “not normal.”

But even being all in with “not normal” wasn’t all me. It took me years to recognize that and to dig down past that stuff.

We want to get along.

We want to be praised.

We want to have others point at us and declare, “Weird.”

Somewhere along the way, we start believing that who we are isn’t enough mainly because of their reactions (or inactions).

We look at the people who are crushing it—the ones who seem to have it all together—and think, “Maybe if I do it like them, I’ll be successful too.”

But here’s the problem:

👉 Their journey isn’t your journey.
👉 Their strengths aren’t your strengths.
👉 And MAYBE their success came from fully leaning into who THEY are—not from copying someone else.

👉 And let’s not forget that the success they show on the surface may not be the truth of their heart.

I learned this lesson the hard way when I tried to host an online summit, just like one I had attended. I followed the blueprint exactly—same strategy, same tactics, same marketing.

And do you know how many people showed up?

Zero.

I had copied someone else’s strategy without realizing that it worked for them because it was designed for them. Not me.

You don’t need to be someone else to be successful.
You need to be fully, unapologetically YOU.

Being Unapologetically YOU

Learn Don’t Copy

Breaking through imposter syndrome starts by being you, but comes from learning from those have gone before. Learn from their experiences and their falls. Then take all you learn and weave it into your unique design. If it doesn’t fit with you, it’s okay to let it go.

The fundamental part of learning is to find what works for you.

Be Authentically You

Because authenticity can’t be replicated. Trying to be someone else won’t feel write to you – or to the people you are addressing.

If you have ever felt like you needed to fixed before you could lean into your unique design, I have a secret to share:

You haven’t surprised God. Before you made your first choice, your first mistake, your first face-plant, God formed you and called you for your unique design with full knowledge of the path you were going to walk.

You don’t need to be fixed. You just need to be more you.

Pretending Requires More Effort

Just be you. Everything else will exhaust you, distract you, and discourage you from being that you.

It takes more thought to remain in the pretending.

It takes more energy to align actions with the pretending.

It takes more manipulation to keep the pretending illusion (for others and even for yourself).

When you are you, it all becomes a little easier and a little lighter.

Know You So You Don’t Lose You

“Not this little grey duck.”

I like to use that expression when someone is asking me to do something outside of my unique design. But when I said it to the church elder, I think he took offense.

He had just explained that if my husband was called to foreign missions, so was I.

If you know me, you know that is a big, fat, NOPE!

But I’ve watched others fade into a calling that wasn’t their own. Or dissipate into the demands of THEY. Or evaporate in the efforts of trying to make others happy.

The more you aren’t you, the more you will lose you.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). The more you own that truth, the easier it becomes to stop chasing other people’s paths and start walking confidently in your own.

#QuoteoftheDay

Your Advantage is YOU – Imposter Syndrome Won’t Stand a Chance

The thing that makes you stand out from the crowd is YOU.

I spent years trying to be polished, professional, and “put together.”

And do you know what happened?

I lost the exact thing that made me unique.

My southern storytelling.
My snarky rainbow humor.
My off-the-cuff energy.

The moment I stopped trying to fit into someone else’s idea of success—and instead leaned fully into my own strengths—everything changed.

Your quirks, your style, your natural way of doing things? That’s your superpower.

YOU are enough!

The moment you stop trying to be like them—and instead focus on being fully YOU—you unlock the true power of your purpose.

The Distraction of Imposter Syndrome

Have you ever watched a video of a presentation, and interview, or a livestream you did and wondered who that stranger was in your place?

Have you ever been in a huge fight with your family when you pulled into the church parking lot only to jump out and be all “little miss sunshine and Bible verses”?

Have you ever felt like you were just performing instead of living?

Imposter syndrome sneaks into our lives and pushes out our uniquenesses. It drives us to conform to the limits of the world instead of embracing the abundance that comes by living in God’s unique design.

Your voice matters – because there is a heart waiting to engage with your voice.

Your story matters – because there is a life struggling to understand that their way is okay and your story proves it.

Your purpose is up to you – because there is no other person that can walk it out. Without you, it will not be fulfilled.

You are the super in your superpower. Lean into your gifts, talents, abilities, quirks, differences . . . ALL OF YOUR UNIQUE DESIGN.

It’s time to stop trying to be someone else and to stop chasing someone else’s journey and to find you.

Where do you struggle to embrace you?

What if today, you took one bold step to embrace YOUR design? No more chasing someone else’s version of success. No more shrinking your uniqueness to fit a mold. Drop a comment or DM me—let’s talk about it!

And if you are looking for a hope boost, join me for the Hope and Courage Reset – my gift to you to feed your boldness for living your unique design. CLICK HERE!

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