Laura Haley: [00:00:00] Hi, travel creators. Today we are talking about my least favorite house guest, imposter syndrome. Yeah. if you clicked on this, you probably already know what imposter syndrome is, but in case you don't, it is feeling like you're a fraud. It's feeling like the things that you accomplished you are not worthy of and they've happened by some sort of fluke.
Laura Haley: Which is, even when I say that out loud, seriously, it sounds so funny and just a little bit crazy. But it's been something I have been experiencing lately, and I've been talking to a lot of other creative people, and they have also been experiencing that this time of year, and I don't know what it is, guys.
Laura Haley: I feel like it's winter. It's gotta be winter. I hate winter. But, I want this episode to help me get out of this little slump, to help you get out of this little slump, to help me to help you to get out of this slump. I took to the internet, and I asked [00:01:00] creator friends, how do you deal with imposter syndrome?
Laura Haley: What do you do to get yourself out of this? And I want this episode to be a step in the right direction of getting you out of your own head. It's especially hard because I work with creators who do get in their head and we can't fault them for that. That happens to everybody. But it's hard when you're on the outside watching someone who is so dang good at what they're doing being like, I don't feel good enough.
Laura Haley: I feel like the stuff I'm creating is not good enough. So I'm just not gonna do it. And that is so hard on both sides of the spectrum. And so I'm going to share a couple of things my creator friends of the internet have said about how they deal with imposter syndrome so that we can get over this together.
Laura Haley: When I asked one of my friends, she said, I would love to know how to get over imposter syndrome, which is like, me too, me too, but then we wouldn't have this episode, so. She also says, I guess that I just remember that no one had any idea what they're doing. Nobody knows what they're doing, which is [00:02:00] so dang true.
Laura Haley: That one always makes me feel good. She also says to ask questions, even if you think they're dumb. And I think this is actually an excellent piece of advice because if we're trying to get ourselves out of this little slump, I think we can sit down and ask ourselves a few questions like, What are my goals?
Laura Haley: Just getting reminders of what you want to do? And also, what have I done to get where I am now? That one always helps me because if you look at your life a year ago, you probably have done things that you wanted to do. And, if you haven't, that's also everybody, you know, people have done things they want to do, people have also done things they don't want to do at the same time.
Laura Haley: But anyway, we all have hard things ahead of us, we all have hard to do lists and things like that, and I think if you look backwards and think about, what have I done to get to this point? That stuff was hard. That show was really hard. And guess what? You did it. And now we have more hard stuff to do, so what's the difference?
Laura Haley: What's stopping you there? And now, and now, you probably have a bigger network. Of support and help to get [00:03:00] through those future hard spots. Another one of my top tips for creators, especially, and I honestly think every creator should have one of these. On my computer desktop, I have a folder called feel good folder.
Laura Haley: And in it are screenshots of any time anyone has ever said something nice to me or affirming of my work or my efforts. I screenshot that and I put that shit in that folder and I read through it. When I'm feeling like I don't know what to do with myself or I'm feeling so like overwhelmed or like, oh my gosh I feel like I'm in a slump that type of thing Especially when I'm starting new projects or working on new Things I go into that folder and I'm like, okay, you've been here before you've done this before you can do this again It is free endorphins. So, start that folder today if you do nothing else. This next piece of advice sounds really counterintuitive, but I think it's working for [00:04:00] me. So, I have been feeling like I am in a content slump, and now I'm recording season two of my podcast, which I thoroughly enjoy. If I could do nothing else and just record podcasts all day long and have my producer Marie edit them, I would do that.
Laura Haley: By the way, I'm leaving her information in the show notes, because please, dear God, if you want to start a podcast, she's amazing. She is amazing. Anyway, I was in a slump, and then I started working on a project that I freaking love, and it's this podcast. And now, I have some creative juices flowing, so my advice is to try something else, take a break.
Laura Haley: I have things on my to do list today, I still do, and I will get to them. But I was taking a break to work on something I want to work on. And also Marie needs my episode. But go, take a little break, find a project that is new and different that you haven't done in a while. For example, I haven't recorded a podcast episode in a few months.
Laura Haley: So I went and did that and I was like, dang, this is so much fun I forgot. And now I'm feeling a little [00:05:00] inspired again. I'm feeling like, yeah, I can do this. So, go try something else. Something else that has been really helpful for me that I have been doing lately that is also new to me is networking with other creators.
Laura Haley: And I know, especially for me, Networking can sound like the last damn thing you ever want to do, but I promise. It has been so incredible and re-energizing and reaffirming. Sometimes you just need to call up somebody and be like, I feel like this, and they're like, yeah. You do, and so do I, and that is the most amazing thing ever.
Laura Haley: Just knowing that you're not in this alone is so amazing. One way that I am getting out of my comfort zone, meeting new travel creators, and getting some shit done is with something I call Wildfire Coworking. It is a new, like, thing I'm trying. It is totally free. I will leave a link in the show notes.
Laura Haley: Wildfire travel creator coworking [00:06:00] is for my creators who want to build a community. They want to get to know other people in their niche. They also have a to do list and they need to get shit done. Basically, we show up on Zoom for an hour to two hours. We sit there, we get to know each other, and we get our work done.
Laura Haley: And it is incredible, and it is a way to, like I said, feel affirmed. That you can feel your feelings and also get advice and take actionable next steps. Towards your goals. I'd also like to add that, of course, I'm biased, but I think that social media for travel creators is the hardest thing ever because you are constantly Constantly comparing yourself to other creators in your niche.
Laura Haley: Everybody has beautiful drone photos, and you don't have a drone Of course, you're gonna think my stuff isn't good enough. It is so hard. It is so hard. So, I encourage you to save this episode to come back to when you're feeling in this little rut. I just learned a piece of advice recently that [00:07:00] was about just, doing something, doing one task that's kind of like an entry level task to get yourself primed and prepped.
Laura Haley: It's like a warm up, a warm up task to dive into something deeper. For example, I can barely write anything after 2 p. m. I, so if I have to, there are definitely days when I have to be writing in the afternoon. I do a little warm up task to get myself back into that creative mindset. Sometimes that's like, alright, I'm just going to answer one email.
Laura Haley: Because then I'm typing words. Or, I'm just gonna write down one concept of a project I'm working on or something, and then that primes me to warm up to do some of the harder stuff I have been putting off. Or sometimes I will look at my notebook with a bunch of my ideas in it, which I encourage you to have.
Laura Haley: If you don't have a million dollar idea notebook, go grab one. It's just a notebook where I write down all the ideas that are amazing, that I think they're great. And so, if you need a reminder like, hey, I [00:08:00] have some good ideas, go get a notebook and read through it before you start your work day. I used to be the type of person that would open my computer immediately as soon as my eyes opened, and that is not something we do anymore.
Laura Haley: That is not something we do anymore. And the reason is because I've had this little saying rattling in the back of my mind for a while, and it is, “rest is required, rest is not a reward.” I find I do so much better work when I have space away from it, which sounds, again, counterintuitive. I think that's also an underlying theme of trying to get ourselves out of this imposter creative slump, is that the things that we don't think we should be doing, we probably should be doing.
Laura Haley: For example, if you don't feel like the content you're creating is good enough, then just don't force yourself to push anything out. Then you're just also feeding into the idea that, oh my gosh, I don't like Korean content. This is so hard. I don't like it. Which is definitely gonna happen sometimes, we get stuck in this loop.
Laura Haley: Also, if you're like, Laura, how do I [00:09:00] make sure content is still going out to my community? Because I understand the importance of consistency, but also not burn the hell out. And that is where I help creators. I I am a content developer for them, on their behalf, alongside them, so that they can rest in the background.
Laura Haley: I always say so that they can do things in their business that require their expertise and resting their little noggin is one of them. So if you feel like you need advice on how do I even get started organizing my content so that I can have a dang beach day, I'm your girl. I have free resources on how to do this on the podcast and I also offer, right now, free brainstorming calls where you can come to me with your content, roadblock, and we can work through it together.
Laura Haley: Something else that has been rattling around in my little noggin recently is a sentence I learned from a fellow travel creator. That is, the work you are avoiding is harder than the actual work, or thinking about avoiding the work is [00:10:00] harder than the actual work, which, yep, yes it is. when we open an email, and it has a little to do in there, like, hey, can you sign this thing?
Laura Haley: And then you're like, yep, and you respond in the moment, you're like, yeah, I'll sign this, and then you don't sign it in that moment. When that thing could take 30 seconds, it could take 30 seconds, and it could be one less thing off your to do list. So this is me saying to you, find those quick wins within your day to help you make progress, even if it's tiny.
Laura Haley: As a creator, we are always going to fall back into these ruts. We are always going to have these moments where we think, oh my gosh, what am I even doing? Why am I even creating? Who am I even doing this for? And I was recently reminded, one of my clients posted this reel, and it was just a compilation of all of these videos that she's seen recently, or like, moments she's experienced that she put into one reel, and they were just simple things that she created.
Laura Haley: found there were mundane things happening day to day. She put them together in a reel and she was like, wow, let us just [00:11:00] pause and look around and see that all these moments we are experiencing are actually quite lovely. And that is such a great piece of content because it makes us stop and think and it is so simple.
Laura Haley: So one of the best things you can do to get yourself out of this content rut is to keep it simple. You don't have to be everything or do everything. everything, or be everywhere. You just have to keep it simple. Okay, I hope this list was helpful. I hope you're feeling some sort of encouragement and not like you're falling deeper into this six foot hole.
Laura Haley: If this was helpful, let me know on Instagram at @travelcontentwriting or you can send me an email at laura@ travelcontentwriting.com. But happy creating, friends! I will see you next week.
