Instead of Waiting for Godot, Some Wait for Perfection

Key points

Imposterism becomes problematic when we decide to organize our lives around hiding our flaws.

Perfectionism often entails waiting for some achievement to finally prove one's innate or achieved worth.

We can lean into meaning and each other when we choose to stop waiting.

Some people are terrified of making mistakes. They live in a fantasy , believing that enough effort and insight can permanently submerge and shackle all of their fears. They become preoccupied with ideas like “healing” and “root causes,’ believing they’re able, at least in theory, to root out depression , anxiety , their poor self-image , and imposter phenomenon—also known as imposter syndrome , though it is not a syndrome, nor is it listed in the DSM . However, this utopian fantasy misses an i