You Are an Imposter (That's Normal)
Inspired by on Lenny's Podcast
The first years of parenting feel like being thrown into a job you never applied for - because that's exactly what it is.
Julie Zhuo spent seven years at Facebook feeling like an imposter. Seven years. As VP of Design. Every week, the voice in her head: "Do you really deserve to be here? You've never done this before. What right do you have?"
Sound familiar? That's the internal monologue of every new parent at 3am with a screaming baby. Do I know what I'm doing? Am I qualified for this? Everyone else seems to have it figured out.
Here's what Julie learned: the imposter feeling and the fastest growth happen at the exact same time. They're two sides of the same coin. If you feel completely comfortable, you're probably not learning anything new.
You've never parented this child before. You've never handled this exact tantrum, this sleep regression, this developmental leap. Of course you feel unprepared - you ARE unprepared. That's not a bug; it's the feature.
The feeling doesn't mean you're failing. It means you're growing. And seven years from now, you'll look back and realize you knew more than you thought.
PM Theme: Embracing uncertainty / growth mindset
Parenting Theme: Accepting imperfection in parenting
“I always say that the first seven or eight years that I was at Facebook, every single week, I felt like an imposter. I had no idea really what I was doing. The constant refrain in my head is like, 'Well, do you really deserve to be here? Do you really know what's happening?'”Julie Zhuo · 00:09:03
“Being in an uncomfortable situation, being in a position where you feel like, Hey, do I really know how to do this? I've not prepared for it is kind of coin sides with the fastest and most intense periods of growth in one's career.”Julie Zhuo · 00:09:47
