Do you ever feel like you’re a fraud? Like you have no idea what you’re doing? If so, you’re not alone. This phenomenon has been coined “imposter syndrome,” and it’s when you feel your success is due to luck and not from your talents or qualifications. According to TIME, 70 percent of people are affected by imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. If you’re like me, you experience it quite regularly. However, knowledge is power and once you become aware of it and its common triggers, you can find ways to handle imposter syndrome in a healthy way.

We decided to make imposter syndrome our theme this November because it’s something most of us have experienced and it’s especially common among creatives. Doing creative work requires two things: vulnerability and then sharing your vulnerability. No wonder imposter syndrome creeps in! You’re sharing your love, passions, feelings, creations with the world and then allowing people to judge and criticize them. It takes a lot of confidence. What’s interesting is that the more success you have doesn’t equate to lesser feelings of imposter syndrome. In fact, many times it increases. That doesn’t seem fair! Still, there are a lot of ways you can cope with these feelings and we plan to explore it this month.

As always, we’d love to hear your experience with imposter syndrome. Share yours at our submissions section.