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You’re Not an Impostor
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we don’t know what we’re doing when we first begin our journey into our craft.
With so many others in this craft already, why am I here? What can I possibly contribute?
These questions can worry you at first, for they play right into the fear of being an impostor. And no one wants to be an impostor.
However, as Sean McCabe writes (link): “You don’t have to be an expert in order to teach. You only have to know more than the person you are teaching.”
This is a profound statement, because it flips the whole notion of teaching on its head. No longer do you have to have a degree or certification to necessarily teach. Instead, you have to possess good communication skills, and interest in the subject, and a feeling of responsibility towards your students. As long as you know more than the person you are teaching, you can be seen as an expert.
You might say: “But that’s exactly what an impostor is! I’m not an expert at all.” The problem though is that being an expert is, essentially, a point of view. It’s a perspective. Sure, you won’t look like an expert to someone who has been in the craft for five years, but that person won’t look like an expert to someone who has twenty years of experience. It’s all perspective.
Therefore, you must stop stressing out about being an impostor. To teach, you just need to be teaching to people who know less than you.
Remember, you aren’t trying to teach the teachers. You’re trying to help new people out.