It's the third week of this semester. The weeks have gone past so quickly! I am surprised that it is already August. This week, I am starting to shift to the define stage of the design thinking process. The define stage consists of defining and refining the scope of my project. The define stage is a crucial step so that everyone is on the same page.

This week has been a crucial week for me and filled with a lot of excitement, motivation but a little bit of the feeling of imposter syndrome. I've been refining my project scope more finely which helped me clarify my targets and limitations. The groundwork I laid this week is definitely going to help me in the next couple of weeks when I start the next stage of my design process. While this process has been really helpful for me, I have run into a small problem.

What? 

This week while sharing our ideas and projects amongst each other, I can't help but self doubt my project that I have been working on. Seeing my peers' projects and the details have made me question if my own idea is not good enough. I especially felt this when we were going around in our stream to share our progress with one another. I found everyone had such thought provoking ideas which seemed really helpful and innovative. However, I did not feel the same for my own project. The feelings that I felt was the self doubt and not achieving my own expectations has been tough to deal with. However, one thing I do appreciate is that my project is very relatable to this emotion that I am going through. My project is mitigating imposter syndrome and interview anxiety for students during job searching. While the topic is different, the feeling of imposter syndrome is similar in a sense. This means I can better understand and relate to the potential users of my project who might feel the same way. This experience helps me create a more meaningful and empathetic project for the users.

The role of the others in this situation helped me recognise this feeling and turn it into a positive situation. When others were explaining their projects during class, it evoked a feeling of insecurity for me however, I was able to understand that sometimes it is not a bad thing to feel this way and this means that I am going out of my comfort zone which is a good experience. I was able to come to this solution by researching further into the issue of imposter syndrome and how I am able to mitigate it. By keeping a positive mindset and making a plan the feeling of imposter syndrome can be overcome (Eruteya, 2022).

So What?

Through reflecting on my emotions, I have recognised that feelings of self doubt is common and often part of the creative process. The information that I have gained this week about my project and the emotions students go through are valuable. I realised that comparing myself to others defeats the whole purpose of myself being me and my positionality. Also focusing on my own growth and learning from it is very beneficial and important. I was able to overcome this situation by reading into many different readings such 'A guide to imposter syndrome and how to over come it' (McLean, 2023). When looking into these readings the thought that kept coming into my mind was that I was not the only individual who experiences these feelings of self doubt. To come to this conclusion that it was fine to feel like this, I based my decisions on the readings to guide me through the thought process. If I were to feel like this again I would talk to my friends and family and share how I am feeling as sometimes sharing information can take the weight off shoulders. My new understanding is that everyone is susceptible to this feeling of self doubt which is not a bad reaction to have sometimes as it helps individuals to further read into their situation and reiterate their choices.

Now What? 

For the future, I plan to use this knowledge I have gained form this reflection and experience to gain back my confidence and concentrate more on the strengths of my project. If I run into this emotion again I would tell myself to have a positive mindset and make a plan by being organised and breaking down each emotion to reflect further into them. Consequences may occur from this new actions such as being stuck on the emotion and not being able to move forward. However, to ensure the plan is successful, it would be the best to hold myself accountable for the actions and make sure to have a positive mindset by not thinking too much into the situation. I will ensure that I will follow my plan by reaching out to a trusted person to go to when I am stuck. I am accepting the fact that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and I should not be comparing and self doubting myself. By focusing on the process and learning from the experience, I am able to overcome imposter syndrome and work further on the development of my project. I will remember this journey is important especially to relate to what my users are feeling during times like this.