Why Animators Must Ignore Imposter Syndrome

Imposter Syndrome affects almost everyone

I'm always looking for opportunities to bring my current or former students onto productions, ideally for a paid job but, failing that, for an internship.  

Recently I brought a student onboard the feature film I'm working on, only to find that he almost backed out of the job because he wasn't sure he could pull it off.  In short, he is suffering from "Imposter Syndrome". 

The thing is, almost everyone suffers from this at some point in their career, especially early on.  The trick is to push through - and get help from others for the bits you can't tackle yourself.  Like the T Shirt says - you can do it. 

Imposter Syndrome

 

What is Imposter Syndrome? According to Wikipedia, Imposter Syndrome is "a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".  Everyone starting out, learning a new skill, experiences a level of uncertainty and insecurity about their skills. 

Imposter Syndrome

My own career in animation was no exception; almost everyone experiences something similar when they first start out.  And even seasoned professionals still get performance anxiety when they go on set; a good friend of mine, and a talented cinematographer, was telling me at lunch yesterday that he still experiences Imposter Syndrome even after 30 years in the business.

Everyone Suffers from Imposter Syndrome

How do you deal with it? Understand that you are not alone, that everyone goes through this.  Study hard, learn from your mentors - and you will get there in the end.

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