menopausebarbees
... the tales of two sisters

Dana lives in Seattle, and Tracie lives in Germany. We are businesswomen, writers and humorists. We write about life, dating, and today's modern women.

Imposter’s Syndrome

I recall the pure exhilaration my parents expressed watching the legendary Lena Horne perform Believe in Yourself from the movie, The Wiz. They were so moved by this production, feeling the words, and embracing the lyrics as a way of life.

“If you believe within your heart you’ll know

That no one can change

The path that you must go

Believe what you feel

And know you’re right because

The time will come around

When you’ll say it’s yours”

This past weekend, I enjoyed a documentary on Netflix with my mother entitled ‘In Our Mothers’ Gardens’, which showed how maternal lineages have shaped generations of Black women.

One line and lesson that caught my attention in the show was, Imposter’s Syndrome. I shared with my mother how blessed I felt that even though she and my father were not of an era of social media, paid influencers, and reality television, they were their own trailblazers, and never imposters. God really did throw away the mold when He created them. They were never afraid to claim it and say, “The time will come around when you’ll say it’s yours.”

One of the biggest gifts our parents gave my siblings and me was to own our own flavor and not to have Imposter’s Syndrome. I am reminded of this every time my sister and I are together. We are so very much alike being born into the same household with the morals, judgements, and faith based beliefs, yet our styles and interest do not mirror each other. Whereas Tracie is definitely more flamboyant in her attire, I’m more refined. Tracie finds bliss in her solitude, I am more social. A perfect afternoon for Tracie may be exploring catacombs in Europe, where I might find bliss taking a tennis clinic.

We learned early on to study those we admire, however, to always know we were qualified to do whatever we desired, without stealing someone else’s identity. Imposters are insecure.

As my sister Tracie blogged yesterday- Stay in your lane, there’s less traffic there. Or as I like to quote, “Watch when following the Masses, often the M is silent.”

BElieve in YOUrself and BE YOU! After all, looking back each day, you don’t want to have regrets.