A Note to Imposter Syndrome

So many seem to turn aside from the higher way due to your convincing stories. I've seen it again and again. Your tale persuades those who's defenses are down. What to me appears so clearly a fabrication somehow takes a tight hold. It's a clever lie you tell. The comforting feeling that comes from embracing the retreat gives a sense of grounding realism. After all, who doesn't want to appear realistic? You elevate consistency over progress. You leverage self-deprecation with humor. Self pity is one of your sharpest weapons. Your use of comparison benefits you twofold. On the one hand, you are able to show your victims that they aren't the worst. They use this as their sense of security—a faulty foundation on which to build identity. On the other hand, you are able to make them feel surely incapable of becoming the best. With comparison, you make the more journeyed appear on so distant a hill that the climb is never begun.

Your success lies in your proven ability to keep your victim's focus in the wrong place. If you can compromise their perspective, you can drive their actions. All you need do is convince them they have bad genes, that their upbringing lacked, or that their cognitive capability is a constant. You are able to manage their outlook with ease after that. They will find themselves feeling average, restrained, lazy, bored, incapable, depressed, and will have no appetite for striving for the narrow way. You keep them from realizing the truth about change! What a rotten business you are in!

I'll make it my aim to undermine your plans as much as I can.