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Ideas I copied to help steal more ideas
Stealing ideas doesn’t have to result in imposter syndrome. If anything, copying helps reveal our most authentic selves.
More than 70% of people in the workplace feel they have experienced ‘imposter’ thoughts at some point in their lives. Since the term ‘Imposter Phenomenon’ was coined by Dr Pauline in 1971 — initially to describe the self-perceived intellectual phoniness in high achieving women — the term ‘Imposter Syndrome’ has since become part of the common anxiety vocabulary.
Such feelings of unworthiness of our accomplishments can have a genuine and very prevalent impact on our mental well-being. Imposter syndrome inspires overwork paradoxically in the most talented individuals, which at its worst manifests as stress, depression, and burnout.
Having come from a career in medicine and now product management, I have also experienced these feelings. In both jobs, my underlying fear was the same — that I am not intelligent or creative enough to do the work. That someone will eventually see through my charade.
What has helped me live with my imposter thoughts is realising that I do not always need to invent something entirely new to prove my worth.
I’ve learned that underpinning many people’s sense of imposter is a feeling of self-doubt, that somehow you are unworthy of your accomplishments by leveraging the help and knowledge of others.
In this article, I will show how copying others is precisely what we have been taught not to do, yet it is exactly what we absolutely must learn to do well. The ability to emulate those whom we admire and whose ideas excite us is probably one of the best tools we humans have to discover our hidden talents.
What follows are the principles I have learned from corporate titans, thieves, historians, and artists on how to steal with integrity to attain my goal: confident humility.
1. Mimicking reveals authenticity
Young professionals often feel pressure to invent something entirely new. That somehow, the act of self-willed creation is a social proof of worth to themselves and others.
