The Great Mompostor™ Project

Photo by John Hain (2015) via Pixabay, CCO Public Domain.

“I don’t deserve to be the mother of such great kids.”

“A woman from my parish asked if I would speak at a meeting of the Moms’ Club. She must have thought I was somebody else.”

“It bothers me when other moms say that they admire me. They don’t know what I’m really like.”

Have thoughts like these ever crossed your mind? If so, you aren’t alone; many mothers experience similar feelings of insecurity. But when those feelings of self-doubt are chronic and crippling, they comprise what I call the “Mompostor™ mindset”: the belief that one is merely “faking it” as a mother.

What about you? Do you identify with the Mompostor™? Find out by taking this “true/false” quiz:

-I tend not to recognize my own accomplishments;

-I frequently interpret constructive criticism as proof that I’m failing at my vocation;

-I often “sweat the small stuff” until it hurts (or until “the small stuff” is absolutely perfect);

-I feel like I’m fooling the people who see the good things I do and make positive assumptions about my abilities as a mother;

-I think that it’s only a matter of time until my friends and family realize that I’m not the mother they think I am.

One year ago, I would have marked each of those statements with a bold-lettered "true"! But as a recovering Mompostor™, I've since learned how to put aside my fears of failure and notions of ineptitude. The happy result is greater confidence and fuller joy in my God-given vocation of motherhood.

Are you struggling with Mompostor™ syndrome? Don't allow feelings of inadequacy to sap your joy!