025: You're not an Imposter, You're a child of God! The truth about Imposter Syndrome.

In this episode, we're talking about Imposter Syndrome and how it can wreck your faith. It's so much more than just feeling like you don't belong in your life. There's a whole lot more under the surface of this lie we tell ourselves.

Truthfully, it can undermind our faith as well as every relationship we have. It can be disastrous if we let it rule over our lives. Not to worry though, today we're yanking the run out from under this imposter! I'm showing you how it works and how to stop it!

Let's go, warrior!

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Transcript

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Have you ever felt like you're getting in your own way, you see that there is a way forward for you. And you trust God and you know that he is working in your life but yet, you keep on getting blocked and it feels like you're tripping over yourself. Today, we are going to be dealing with this annoying situation that honestly happens to a lot of women. So you are not alone, my friend. So it's gonna be a fun and deep conversation. So grab some coffee tea, a notebook to take some notes, and let's get started. Welcome to worth it. The podcast where we answer anxiety, deflate fear and shut down shame, because ain't no woman got time for that you were made to thrive. My mission is to help you get deeply rooted with God and reclaim your weapon that the enemy of God has been using against you. After going to battle for my own mind. Three years ago, I realized that there is a war going on for our minds. A battle that begins with how we think says you have much more control than you realize. With each episode, you'll learn how to fight back and become more confident in the truth that God already knows. You are worth it. I'm Michelle Remington, Christian mindset coach, thought strategist, and warrior Mama. Grab your sword daughter of the king, it's time to unleash your inner warrior princess. Welcome back. Beautiful warrior. Thank you so much for joining me once again on another edition of worth it. Today we are talking about imposter syndrome. Oh yes, we are going to just deal with that big elephant in the room. I'd like to start out by sharing some of the backstory of this journey into imposter syndrome. What I've learned along the way, and how God is helping me through it. So a while back, I had a shocking revelation. I couldn't remember the dreams and aspirations at once had a remember I was sitting at church just fellowshipping with a bunch of my sisters. And all of a sudden I looked at my one friend and I was like, you know, I can't remember the dreams that I used to have. I can't remember what those were because my life has become so focused on marriage and motherhood. It was like the kind of dreams that are so big. They scare you in a good way. The dreams and the possibilities that once made me feel so alive, had been buried deep inside my heart. Well, I answered one of God's greatest callings, motherhood. Then I climbed a mountain. I always wanted to climb a mountain. I have always been drawn to pictures and videos of these glorious mountain top moments. And then during a trip to visit family in Oklahoma, I got to climb a real mountain. It was so cool. And I soon learned that the mountains that I thought I had seen growing up, had really only ever been big hills. And the closer we got to the top of the mountain, the expanse of land was becoming larger as we climbed higher. And the more that long forgotten dream started coming to life within me again. Because as we climbed higher, I was getting so excited and at the top of that mountain, I was as giddy as a schoolgirl like I felt exhilarated. I felt alive. I felt hope that came from outside of myself. Oftentimes, we're able to draw hope, from our experiences with God and from the promises of God's Word and the preaching that we get from our faithful pastors. And you're able to draw from that hope. And as you pray every day no gotchas fills you every morning His mercies are made new but this was Different, this hope came from outside of me. Because we hadn't planned to climb a mountain that day, or even at all. The decision was spontaneous for us anyway. But God says, For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope, and a future. That's one of our favorite verses probably from Jeremiah 29:11. Little did I know that God was using this mountaintop experience, to ignite me with fresh hope to see that he can take the my dreams that are inside me, no matter how far they're buried, and he can bring them to life in a moment when I don't even expect it. And just as God uses his word, his promises your faith in your hope to refresh your heart and soul, he infused me with fresh hope that ignited the hope and faith within me. Only God can do that. I came back from that trip refreshed and invigorated. And then I got back to life as usual. Thankful, so thankful for that experience. Yet, God had something more in mind. But it didn't happen right away. God's timing is perfect. So that seed had to work its way through my heart, and my mind not knowing that that seed had even been planted. Imagine my surprise when a sprout started breaking through the surface. And that sprout was those old dreams that I had forgotten about. In that moment there with my friend at the table, just talking was God reminding me that they were still there. I had buried those dreams because marriage and motherhood became more important to me. Yet God was showing me that they had merely gone dormant. They weren't gone. They weren't dead. Just sitting there, waiting, while God was working in me, and creating the right environment for them to flourish. Once again. You see, all the time that I went through difficulty, every hurt every doubt, every tear in smile, every challenge, every moment when I wasn't sure if I was gonna make it helped to create the perfect environment for God to use my testimony of faith, conversion, challenges, marriage and motherhood. To plant those seeds of hope in someone else's heart. All I had to do was trust him and be bold. Now, being bold, is somewhat of a new trait for me. See, I always knew that I have a strong personality. But there are many that will squash a strong person every chance they get. For me. This happened in my most impressionable, teen years, and just wanting to be light and loved. I faded into the background. Don't make a fuss, Don't make a scene. But after a while I began to feel forgotten. And because I was staying out of everyone's way so that I didn't bother them that eventually grew into feeling unloved, and unworthy. So, in my thinking, if people liked me better, quiet and in the background, that must mean that no one really cares about me. And my opinions and thoughts don't matter. But God created you and me every person different. There's this life inside of us. And my strong personality had ebbs and flows not really meant to be boxed up, or trampled. down. So from time to time, some of that strong personality would escape. And then I got labeled as weird, strange. Yet, that label did nothing to help me understand myself better. It wasn't until God intersected me. And I began to let go of the labels that I had attempted to understand myself better, that I began to finally see a true reflection of myself. Those labels were just literally labels that I had put on myself and just trying to be anyone but myself. It took a long time to accept and embrace me, as God intended, as quirky and sometimes crazy, but yet quiet, and thoughtful, and whatever other adjectives you would use to describe me. After a while, I finally learned to love the way God created me. And to trust his purpose for me, a purpose that doesn't include fitting in, but being his bold creation, executing his bold plan. Now, in order for me at that time to believe that bold was even possible for me, I had to deal with the elephant in the room. I was getting in my own way. And the vehicle that I use to keep my path blocked, was imposter syndrome. My challenge was that I was getting imposter syndrome, confused with humility. The difference is that imposter syndrome can masquerade as humility, under the guise of doubting God's plan, like, surely, you know, it's just me, I'm not good enough for this. It's very subtle. And I was putting myself down, I was doubting God's creation and his plan for me. Whereas with humility, you're recognizing and respecting the magnitude of who God is, in giving reverence to him as sovereign King. Like I am just a humble creation of God. And I feel so blessed that he is using me in this ministry, something like that. There's a big difference in the way that it sounds. That's why humility is recognizing and respecting the magnitude of who God is, and then giving reverence to him as sovereign King for the plans that he is completing, in you. Basically, imposter syndrome doubts, God, humility, honors God. And God was working great plans through me, yet, I spent most of the time doubting him, I would say things like, I shouldn't even be here. I'm not qualified for this. I'm not a good wife, I'm a horrible mother, etc, etc, etc, the list could go on. Needless to say, that kind of attitude doesn't set a steady stage for your spiritual battlefield, aka your mind. In hindsight, this explains a lot about the dark times that I experienced. But the great news is that right now, in this very moment, God is using my testimony to plant a seed of hope and promise in you. You've listened this far. And that means you are now equipped and enlightened to overcome the strategies that are being used to break you down and weaken your defenses. So I want to encourage you, because you know, I always try to give you some kind of action that you will take that will enrich your life and help you to draw closer to God. So this week, make some time to examine your thoughts about your faith, your family, marriage, job, church, home life, friends, and how God is working in each of those areas in your life. Is there doubt about God's plan? Do you wonder if God made a mistake? Is there doubt about God's sovereignty, and if you should obey, if so, prayer is your first response, when I realized what I had been doing, I repented. I asked God for help. I knew from everything that I had read in God's word, and everything that I had heard, preached, that repentance has to be the first step. Even if you didn't realize you were doing something wrong. The whole Bible teaches us that repentance is the first step to atonement, and redemption. And the beautiful, the beautiful, amazing gift that we get as part of our relationship with God. And just the essence of who God is, is that He is a God of second chances, and third chances, and fourth chances, and so on and so on. And we have that opportunity to make it right. And to change our course, and correct ourselves. Just think of that God is so amazing. He put forth all of these processes in us, to help us learn from our mistakes, to help us learn from the things that are a challenge to us. And we have that opportunity to then go back and overcome it. God never intended for anybody to just have one chance, or you lose out. God is merciful, he loves you beyond measure. And every day His mercies are made new, and you have the opportunity to correct your course to change things to adapt, so that you don't feel stuck, you're never stuck. That's a lie of the enemy of the kingdom of God, you're never stuck with God, you always have the opportunity to move and correct and to overcome and thrive with God. Now, the next step is that I began to reverse the doubt with the truth of God and His word, because I know the power of our words that come out of our mouths. And if I take that lie that I have been believing, or those things that I've been speaking, that have not been honoring God or helping me, if I then take those, reverse those, and then begin to honor God, and to declare his truth in His Word, that is when the battle changes. You see, imposter syndrome, creates patterns that become habits and behaviors that influence how we operate. That's why it's such a big problem. But it's something that with God we can overcome. So with God's help, we can reverse this, by creating patterns of honoring and referencing God, that become habits and behaviors that influence how we operate, we can then begin to recognize more emotional and spiritual stability as we continue to practice every day. So no more shaky battlefield, only a shaky enemy instead, and a stronger you, and a stronger relationship between you and the Almighty God that created you and loves you more than you can ever imagine. This was an area that was detrimental. It was make or break, because I really had to recognize who God was. And that's really the essence of imposter syndrome. Because with it, you're not only thinking of yourself as an imposter, you're then also treating God as an imposter in your life is has a ripple effect in you, in your family in your life. And God didn't intend for that. God intended for us to be strong in the way that we do that is by honoring and referencing God and His word, and through that strength comes and that strength will then have that beautiful ripple effect that we love to see and start to affect our marriage or family or relationship. tips are church, or job in every other area of our life. I hope this has been helpful for you today. Definitely make some time this week. And it might be helpful to write some of this down in a journal, maybe you want to journal every day of what your thoughts have been, and then do a list and then draw a line on the same page and draw another list next to it. So you've got all the negative things, you were thinking on one side, and then reverse those thoughts to honor God, and to be the truth of God, write those down. And there's power in that in recognizing and referencing who God is. So you may say, I feel worthless, or I'm a hair, horrible parent, or I'm not good at marriage, or any other negative thing that you've been thinking, you're able to turn that around and remind yourself of who God is and who he created you to be. So with all that said, let's go ahead and finish in prayer. Lord Jesus, I just want to thank you for the opportunity to really explore and understand this subject, this thing that just kind of infiltrates our lives when we don't even know what's happening, sometimes, this imposter syndrome. Lord, I thank you for being able to see how this does not honor you. And I also want to thank you, Lord, for a heart that has a desire to honor you. Because as we honor you, we're really honoring your creation as well. we're honoring ourselves in that way. And it's really that proper way that it really should be done. It's very healthy that way. And I thank you for that. You know, what's good for us, Lord, in you know, how you created us. And you know, how we need things said or done. That is not damaging in our lives. I think as humans, we kind of rush things. And we just kind of get frustrated. And we don't think about all the different variables and we end up getting hurt that way. But Lord, when you're involved, when you're involved in that process, you take so much care. And that's why your timing is always perfect, because you take that time to make sure that there's no damage done. And I just want to thank you for that care that you take of us, Lord. And I want to thank you for the opportunity to draw closer to you through this process of really understanding ourselves understanding your word, understanding you. So I pray, Lord, that each person that hears this, you know, the inner workings of their mind, in their heart, Lord, You are so careful as you take care of us. And I pray, Lord, that for each person that hears this, that as they journey with you in this process, that you would continue to open their hearts, their minds, and help them to really see what it is that you are doing inside of them. Like I want them to have the most maximized results from this to be able to draw as close to you as possible to, to really grow emotionally and mentally and spiritually from this experience as much as possible. I'm talking like, I want them to reach their full potential in you for how you created us. And that's not just a career that's not just in what we accomplish, Lord, but when think about how you created us with a purpose, and with a potential from the day that we were born like before we were even born and her mother's belly, you knew our full potential. And the beautiful thing is that that full potential is not just what we accomplish. That full potential is how we grow spiritually, how much we grow emotionally, how much we grow, mentally, it's our relationships. It's our relationship with you. It's our family. There's so much involved in that. And I just want to be reminded Lord Bailey, of how much you are involved in the very inner workings of our lives. I want to be able to honor you in that completely as much as we can understand that God, I just want us to be able to honor you in all of that. So I pray, Lord, that through this process, you would help us to understand it, and really reached that full potential in every single way that you created us. I thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to grow through this. And also to be able to share this with others that may be going through the same thing. Maybe they know someone who's going through the same thing. Maybe they've been there, maybe this is something that just wasn't settled in. They need to revisit it. Whatever it is, Lord, I thank you for the faithful and loving work that you are doing in each heart that hears this. Lord, I praise you, Jesus, You alone are worthy of the praise there is none like you. And it's in your precious, sovereign, and holy name Jesus we pray. Amen. And Amen. So I have a little surprise for you, I made you something. Now you may or may not know that I am a former Christian radio DJ. And quite honestly, I just absolutely love playlists and I know that it is so helpful to have a good playlist to help you throughout the day and get your mindset right get your mood right and so I made you two playlists on Spotify. The first is called worth it praise and I've got all kinds of awesome songs on here to get you praise in get you feeling encouraged we got like Danny Gokey on here has a Kyle Walker I won't go into the whole list because it is a proper playlist and I am quite sure you're gonna love it be encouraged with it. And then the other one is worth it worship because I mean, you know, we all need some praise and worship in our lives. So both of these playlists are public on Spotify. So just look up orthop praise and Orth it worship. I hope you enjoy them and I am also going to be linking them on my website as well. You can always check out Michelle Remington calm So go on, get your praise and worship on! Thank you for joining me on this episode of worth it. If this episode has blessed you in some way. I invite you to leave a review and make sure that you subscribe to this podcast for more encouraging content. Until next time, remember you are worth it.