I sometimes struggle to build, share, or do the things that I truly want to because of the feeling that I must accommodate others. Maybe it’s an oldest sibling trait, but my specific flavor of impostor syndrome usually stems not from being incompetent… but rather the inability to sufficiently meet high expectations.

As with most things, this is rooted in irrational fear: I will not be accepted or understood in the specific work I want to do, and therefore, for the best chances of success, I should curate the format of things to be most palatable to most people.

But as I grow into my identity as someone who makes things for a living, I’m slowly making peace with the incongruence. It feels like a paradox, but maybe it’s just the most honest truth: Whenever I make exactly what I want (without fear or expectations), the right people will connect deeply with it, validating the expression that I was afraid wouldn’t land. That my personal uniqueness is the very strength that makes it work out, not the aspiration for acceptance.

Pretending to be anyone but fully “you” is a waste of not just your own potential, but robbing the world of what only you bring to the table.

Create from love, not fear.