Dear Reader,

It's an angsty day. I'm sitting in the airport, getting ready for more than 24 hours of solid traveling. This is one of those "it's part of life" times, though, because if I want to do things in Australia, then I have to travel to Australia.

But I had a very intense realization this morning.

My whole life, I've been trying to figure out "why" things are happening. If I can understand them (diagnose them), I can fix them. This is how I approach my own personal development, and how I approach all the help I offer people.

It hit me, though.

When does "asking why" become the problem?

I've been dealing with some intense personal growth lately, and it's been amazing, but it's also caused me to take a good look at every single thought I entertain.

Not the thoughts I have.

The ones I entertain.

So when I have a thought that isn't serving me (especially in certain areas of my life), I don't need to understand it anymore. I just need to replace it. Or say no to it.

I'm doing some pretty aggressive thought replacement lately, and those of you who have been listening to me talk about it in various places, bless you. It's a lot of work. But it's work worth doing.

So here's my challenge to you today.

Just because a thought (like, oh, say, an imposter-syndrome-type thought) appears doesn't mean we need to trust it or listen to it. It's possible to notice it, and then acknowledge it came from somewhere, and it thinks it's being helpful, but it isn't being helpful.

It's possible to disagree with the thoughts. Even when they're very familiar.

Anyway. Deep thinking in the airport. I feel like this is my modus apperandi lately. We're not going to do a Dear Becca letter today because I've written quite a bit this week, and I'll put one of the major posts from the week down in that spot in case you haven't seen it yet. It's an important one.

Then, I have a couple of announcements.

First of all, the burnout class is coming up soon. If anyone has been considering taking it, this will be a nice small cohort (as most of our summer classes are).

We're also sending out a coupon for the Strengths for Writers August class on the Patreon tomorrow, so if you're not at least on the free follow level of the Patreon, better head over there.

There's a new Quitcast coming out tomorrow (both on YouTube and on audio) and thank you to everyone who has been subscribing to the Quitcast on audio. Nikki (Haverstock--one of our coaches) has done an amazing job getting that audio up and working. Thank you, Nikki!

I'll post some on social media while I'm in Australia, and I'll see some of you there, but I might be quiet for awhile on the newsletter. Not that you will notice--I'm already not consistent, shocker--but... I'll miss our chats.

Hope your writing week goes well.

<3 Becca <3

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Look. Imposters can't have imposter syndrome.

The syndrome is thusly named because people who are not imposters feel like they are imposters. By nature, people who care about doing their best will worry they're not doing "good" enough.Imposters don't worry about being good enough.Stop arguing with imposter syndrome by saying, "no, look at all these amazing things you've done" and start disagreeing with your brain when it says you don't belong here.

Your brain lies to you all the time.

"I can get on Facebook really quick."
"That person is mad at me."
"No one else is struggling this bad."

Stop agreeing with it. I'm sorry not to pull the punch on this one, but when we agree with our brain and it's not being truthful, all we're doing is deepening the pathway.

We can't solve thinking problems with more thinking.

When your brain tells you that you clearly don't belong in this industry, hear my voice, my friend. The fact that you worry if you belong tells me that you belong.

And... news flash... no one feels more like an imposter than successful people. Because they are so conscious of just how much more success is "above" them. No one mistrusts their talent more than talented people.

(And before you argue with me, remember... "not all people are the same" is the literal motto of my company. I know not everyone is like this. And no, "not feeling like an imposter" doesn't make you one. But I have to speak directly to the people who are feeling like imposters because it's driving me crazy that we give our brains this much power over our emotions.)

It's possible to just say, "thanks, brain, for caring that we're doing a good job... but having imposter syndrome means I care that I'm doing a good job." When that pattern was formed, it explained something to you that solved a problem you had, and your brain just kept repeating it, even though it is a lie. You did not know it was a lie.

Now you know it's a lie.

Imposters cannot have imposter syndrome. If you believe you are an imposter, put your hand on your heart and take three deep breaths. Remind yourself that you do hard things all the time, and imposter syndrome is a great sign.

It means you care about being good at this job.

It's a bigger indicator of success than failure.

You. Can. Do. This.

<3 Becca <3