My Battle with Imposter Syndrome

written by JOSH GESSNER | The Athletter

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Good morning to all new and old readers! Here is today’s edition of TheAthletter, exploring stories, ideas, and frameworks to be the best athlete you can be —and how you can apply them to your career.

What you’ll learn:

What imposter syndrome is

How to beat it as a Baseball Player

P.S. Send me feedback on how I can improve. I want to be worthy of your time. I respond to every email.

In 2019, I signed my dream contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Yet - it also marked the beginning of my battle with imposter syndrome.

Here's what imposter syndrome is (and how to beat it):

It's 2019, and I'm playing in the West Coast League.

I get a call.

"We just made the deal. You're a Philadelphia Phillie..."

Initially, I was excited.

Until the anxiety took over.

Everything was going smoothly from the outside looking in.

Inside my head though, it was a completely different story.

I trained myself to throw in the mid 90s.

I got offers from big time Division 1 universities and Professional teams.

But as I made the transition from Australia to the USA...

I started to doubt myself.

If I belonged.

If I was good enough.

I now know that it was imposter syndrome.

Imposter Syndrome:

Doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud.

And I see this happen with college and professional players...

To get to college you were one of the best players on your HS team.

To get drafted you were one of the best players on your college team.

You go from an environment where you're the best, to not so special.

The imposter syndrome you're feeling right now is justified.

You're in a new environment.

You have no evidence that you'll be competent at that level.

But the thing is...

There are no quick fixes to this.

I'm not going to tell you to start shouting affirmations in the mirror.

That never worked for me.

Instead you need to build evidence that you are competent, and that you belong.

In the meantime?

Distract yourself by putting in the work.

Focus on getting a little better every day.

Be the hardest worker.

This is how to distract yourself from your anxieties.

"Outwork your self doubt"

Is one of my favorite quotes of all time.

Work so hard that it becomes unreasonable for you not to succeed.

So my message to you is simple.

Working hard and competing your heart out are the only things in your control.

So dominate those.

F*ck everything else.

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 

1. Free 9 Week Program: A free generic program for those looking to gain velocity.

2. My Best Thoughts: My past blogs. My very best thoughts.

3. ThePitcherLab: Exclusive group of pitchers looking to work 1-1 with us. Our mission is to help you become good enough to get recruited or signed. Full Stack Program, Full Mechanical Breakdown, Daily Feedback. DM me ‘1-1’ for details.