There’s also the flip side of imposter syndrome.

Inherent in the belief that people are going to figure out that you are actually a fraud, and really bad at something, is the implicit idea that all those other people are actually competent and good at stuff themselves.

Here’s the thing - most of them probably aren’t. The older I get (mid 40s now…) the more I realize that incompetence is far more widespread than I used to think it was.

This is not to give anyone an inflated idea of their own ability or intelligence, including myself! It’s just a reminder that, in most situations, the people whose judgment you are worried about are probably just as bad off as you are… and are probably worse!