What if imposter syndrome isn’t about confidence at all— but about the invisible rules we were raised to obey?

I’ve worked with people who are smart, grounded, kind—

people who’ve accomplished a lot.

And still, they find themselves thinking:

“I don’t know if I belong here.”

A lot of us grew up in families or cultures

where we learned some early, quiet rules:

—Don’t take up too much space.

—Work hard, but don’t brag.

—Put others first.

—Hide what you feel.

Those rules helped us survive.

And at some point—maybe without even knowing it—

we started to believe in them.

We shaped our worth around them.

We lived by them.

And yeah, we didn’t always realize we were choosing that.

But in a way… we did.

It became the quiet script running in the background.

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So now, we step into these roles—

maybe you’re leading a team,

managing people,

making decisions that affect lives and outcomes.

You’re the one others look to.

You’re the one who’s supposed to inspire, guide, show the way.

And still—

maybe something inside whispers,

“This doesn’t feel like mine.”

It’s not because you don’t have what it takes.

It’s just that it doesn’t match the inner script you grew up with.

Nobody ever looked you in the eye and said:

“You belong in rooms like this.”

“You don’t have to shrink to lead.”

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And now, we’ have a louder layer to all this.

Social media tells us:

You matter if you’re liked.

You exist if you’re seen.

You’re successful if people follow you.

It’s a lot of ruido.

And if you’re not grounded in something deeper,

that noise can start to feel like truth.

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I’ve seen this especially with people who live between worlds—

between cultures, between languages,

between who they were raised to be and who they’re becoming.

And what I’ve come to be curious about is this:

Imposter syndrome maybe isn’t always about ability.

Sometimes it may be about not feeling like you perteneces.

Like you haven’t found that place where your full self fits.

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In these cases maybe the answer isn’t to try harder.

Maybe it’s to pause.

Breathe.

And say something simple and verdadero:

“This is who I am.”

“This is what I see.”

“This is where I stand.”

Even if it’s quiet.

Even if it’s inconvenient.

Even if you’re the only one who gets it.

You don’t have to be seen to exist.

But when you are—because you show up as you really are—

you bring something better than perfect.

You bring presence.

You bring energy.

You being más from the inside out.

And that changes the room.

www.myautenticoself.com

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