“Imposter syndrome” very often refers to women and over-achievers, who doubt their accomplishments or fear being discovered as a fraud. It is when you have a strong feeling that you do not deserve the success that you have achieved, and everyone around you is mistaken about you and sooner or later will realise that you are an “imposter”.

Funnily, “imposter syndrome“ is rarely associated with a real lack of knowledge and skills, much more often an incompetent person does not feel that he is doing something wrong. It usually goes hand in hand with perfectionism and/or lack of self-confidence.

I have noticed some particular signs-indicators that show that a creative person might have “imposter syndrome“.

7 SIGNS OF “IMPOSTER SYNDROME” IN INTERIOR DESIGNERS & SKETCH ARTISTS:

You find it hard to accept praise and/or criticism about your drawings/interior projects (even if the criticism is constructive)
You are nervous if you don’t know the topic at 100+ % and scared to make a mistake
You constantly feel like you lack some knowledge and you can’t pursue your dreams before you get through one more online course, and another one, and another… You see what I mean here :-)
You feel like you don't deserve your professional success and you think your success is just a fluke
You are constantly afraid that the “real you” are about to be discovered as a fraud
It seems to you that others would do the same things you do but quicker and more effortlessly
Just the thought of you making a mistake (or worst, failure!) is simply unbearable for you and makes your stomach move

To be true, I had a very strong “imposter syndrome” when I had just graduated from St Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, after studying Interior Architecture for 6 years, and #2, #6, and #7 used to be really strong in me back then.

If you can relate to two or more of those “signs” above, then probably it’s your thing. It does NOT mean that you are sick or anything like that, no! I see it more as a “social sensitivity”. We were conditioned to feel like that, and society incepted that thing in our minds (I hope my terminology makes sense to you). The good news is that you can work with it and change it if you are aware of it.

Surprisingly, statistics say that two out of five successful people feel like “imposters.” Can you believe it?! And stats show nearly 70% (I think it should be 99%) felt like an imposter at some point in their lives. So actually, it is quite normal :-) The thing is, it is not normal if you feel like it affects your life here and now.

A lot of people who go through my online courses or live workshops tell me something along these lines:

“I would love to take sketch commissions, though I am not entirely sure how to do that other than to plunge straight in! I have completed a course last year in Interior Design but I have no practical / “on-the-job” experience so am nervous that my knowledge of materials, lighting, fabrics, furnishings, wall, and window coverings, etc - the intricacies of interior architecture - are lacking even for sketch commissions. So a lot of exciting reading, exploring, viewing of interior sketches lies ahead.”

Well, I can tell you that some of my students became sketch artists without ANY interior design education or even any creative background at all. And the fact a person had completed an id course already puts her/him in the leading position. That is a great advantage for a sketch artist to be.

So you see, for some people, it is more of a mindset work. For some, it is more of a work with their emotions, and their past. For instance, if your parents over-praised or over-criticised you (or both), you may be more likely to have feelings of being a fraud later in life. But please do not criticise your parents for it, they did the best they could. Society's pressures add to that for sure.

In case you might be interested, I have two extra spaces for the coming month for my personal 1-1 zoom consultations where I help my students to pursue their creative goals and dreams. Also, I can give detailed feedback on your drawings and answer your questions. Please email me here schoolofsketching.com/contact-me

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