54: From Self-Doubt to Confident Leader: Overcoming Impostor Syndrome in Fitness

In this empowering episode of Group X Appeal, Kimberly and Terry tackle one of the most common yet unspoken challenges facing fitness professionals—impostor syndrome. 

With nearly 70% of people experiencing this self-doubt at some point, it's time to recognize that feeling like a "fraud" isn't a weakness—it's actually a sign you're growing and pushing boundaries. 

Discover five powerful strategies to quiet that inner critic, shift from self-focus to service, and lead with the authentic confidence your participants deserve.

Key Takeaways:

• Name It, Don't Claim It - Learn to recognize impostor syndrome for what it is and take your power back.
• Flip Your Internal Script - Transform "I don't belong here" into "What unique value do I bring?" and reframe insecurity into contribution
• Build Your Evidence Bank - Open your eyes and ears to the feedback that will counter doubt with concrete proof of your positive impact.
• Shift from Self to Service - Redirect energy from internal worry to external purpose—focus on who you're helping and the transformation you're creating
• Practice Authentic Leadership - Drop the perfection mask and share your journey, lessons, and mistakes to build deeper trust with your community

Essential listening for group exercise instructors and yoga teachers ready to step out of self-doubt and into their full leadership potential. Your participants need your authentic voice, not your perfect performance.

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Stay Connected with Kimberly:
- @kimberlyspreenglick on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
- email: kimberly@theinspiredlifeuniversity.com
- website: www.theinspiredlifeuniversity.com

Stay Connected with Terry:
- @terryshorter on Instagram & Facebook
- email: terry@rippedplanet.com
- website: www.rippedplanet.com

Transcript

Have you ever walked into a room or onto that stage in front of your class and thought, who am I to be here? Well, you're not alone. And today we're tackling one of the biggest silent struggles in fitness and leadership, imposter syndrome. And more importantly, how to step into your power as a leader.

Kimberly/terry (00:54)
Imposter syndrome is that inner voice that whispers you're not good enough. You don't belong here. Someone's going to find out you're a fraud. It's surprisingly common, even among the most successful leaders, instructors, and performers. In fact, research shows that nearly 70 % of people will experience imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. Yep. And here's the truth. It's not a sign of weakness. It's a sign that you're stretching or growing and stepping outside your comfort zone.

And today we're going to help you quiet that voice, shift your mindset and give you tools to lead with confidence and authenticity. I'm Terry Shorter. I'm Kimberly Spreen Glick and we're so happy that you made it. So let's give some tips today. Some of tips of just how to overcome imposter syndrome. does that sound? Yes, absolutely. Have you ever experienced imposter syndrome? Never. He's always been like, I am exactly where I need to be.

No, it's you know what? have maybe I've experienced it for both of us. I appreciate that. I appreciate you taking the hit. Well, I'll just say I wish I had we're going to share five tips and I wish I had had any one of these tips back in the day when I first started struggling with this. So the first tip we have for you is name it, but don't claim it. So recognize imposter syndrome for what it is. It's just

a thought pattern. You know, it's something that you believe and what's a belief. It's just a thought you keep thinking. And often these beliefs can bubble up when, you know, as Terry mentioned, we kind of stretch ourselves, we get outside the comfort zone. When you're in unfamiliar territory, of course it can feel like, uh-oh, you know, it's something off here. Do I not belong here? Am I prepared enough? And, and so just recognize imposter syndrome for what it is. It is part of kind of the process.

it is a critical voice in your head that you get to send in. Do you remember the station wagons from back in the day, like in the 80s? Where you're facing backwards? Yeah, you had the way, it was called the way back. It was called the way back. Me and my brothers would fight for that spot. I love it. And you know, back when we wore seat belts every day. Right, all the time. But when I think about like these critical voices in our head, like the imposter syndrome, I actually put character names to them. So for me, it's Iris the imposter. And whenever one of these

critics pop up in my mind, I acknowledge them because I think it's completely normal that things like this happen. have these these moments where we challenge ourselves, but then I send them to the way back. I'm like, look like with me and my brothers, like it's okay. Terry and his brothers, go harass them. Because I'm busy driving right now. So the key is just call it for what it is, but don't let it drive. Yeah, yeah, send it to the way back.

Yeah, when you send it to the way back, you acknowledge it and then send it to the way back. It loses its power. So it's a beautiful thing. I love it. Yeah, I love it. So that's great advice. And the second piece of advice that we give you the second tip would be flip the script. Instead of saying or instead of thinking I don't belong. Ask yourself, what unique value do I bring to this room to this class to this community and reframe the insecurity into some contribution?

Yeah, so you know for me I still you know to this day still experience ⁓ Imposter syndrome, I think one of the latest projects ⁓ that I've experienced it and I'm still breaking through right now is ⁓ Our new project called yoga ed. ⁓ yeah, so, you know bringing your class to you with different flows and themes and music and stuff like that and I was thinking

who am I to teach other instructors yoga? I still so crazy. I'm like nine years in now teaching yoga, which is incredible. And I still feel like I'm new. ⁓ So it's been a really interesting process for me. ⁓ And ever since September the first, where we kind of started our Fit for Fall challenge and all kinds of other things that I've started and I'm being a part of that as well. I started journaling.

and writing down my thoughts and just kind of getting over and reframing and telling myself these things. I do belong. This is what I'm supposed to do. I was asked to do this and so someone must have seen something in me that I wasn't seeing in myself. So tip number two and a half. If Terry Shorter, after the wealth of experience and the gifts he's given to the world through his teaching and leading,

If he can experience imposter syndrome, any of us can, so don't feel bad about it. my gosh. Thanks for sharing that. Really important piece of advice there. And then the third tip we have for you is to look for and celebrate evidence of success. know, often when we have like a belief, one of the best ways to shift a belief is to challenge it. So, you know, much like you had said that you kept a journal, I think we'd really encourage you to keep like a journal, consider it your wins journal.

and let it become like your highlight reel, giving yourself feedback, moments, accomplishments. Maybe it's a moment after class when a member came up and said something kind about the experience you provided or the music you played or the sequence you provided, something along those lines. I always also, ⁓ along with this, I will keep any kind of notes or if where you teach, they provide comment cards or feedback or submit it digitally and your manager sends it to you.

but keep the evidence that is proof that you are making a difference in people's lives. And then when that imposter syndrome, that doubt kind of creeps in, you turn to the evidence that shows you are doing good work and making a difference in the world. actually have, because this imposter syndrome crosses over from my teaching into my coaching. And so I have ⁓ right above in my office, right above where my computer is, I have what I call my inspiration wall.

and I'll have little notes and cards and things that have come from past members from classes or clients. And that's kind of my, that's my wins journal right there because you know, it's proof that yeah, I may not be perfect, but I'm making a difference and I'm doing what I should be doing. So highly encourage you to look for evidence of the opposite, that you are not an imposter. You are absolutely where you're meant to be doing what you're meant to be doing. Yeah. And so tip.

number three and a half. If Kimberly Spring-Click is still experiencing imposter syndrome at this stage in her game as a very accomplished veteran in our industry. Which means old. No, a very accomplished veteran. Accomplished veteran. Expert. Let me just go grab my cane and make my way to the kitchen for some water. Just keep swinging. Keep swinging.

Then you too Can you know? Have those those bits of evidence those thank-you cards those common cards those You know those things that just remind you so she's doing it you can't do yeah And the spoken word when people say it write it down for yourself make a note on your phone for sure For sure start recording with your camera ask him to say it again. I'm just kidding again Don't do that

Just make sure you get a consent form. Can you imagine someone comes up and like, Terry, that was one of the best classes I've ever had. I'm sorry, could you say that one more time? Don't repeat. Don't do that. Just write it down. I love it. So tip number four is shifting your focus from self to service. this is so important. Yeah, this is probably, you know, one of the biggest tips where we have to kind of

Let's put the ego aside, right? Because imposter thoughts, they thrive when we're self-focused. I mean, that's when they really start coming in. So what we wanna do is just simply redirect that same energy to who you're helping and also the transformation that you're creating and the purpose behind your work. When you can do that, take self out of it and just focus on others, ⁓ the game completely changes.

I can't tell you how much that bit of advice has been a game changer for me because whenever I'm feeling any kind of doubt or fear, whether it's the imposter syndrome, the perfectionism, and we could probably do an episode on each one, I immediately now turn inward and say, okay, am I feeling this because I'm worried about what others are going to think? Is it my ego? Am I afraid of letting people down? Well, if that's the case, that's exactly where the focus is. It's on me. Yeah.

And what we really want when we're in a field of service, which all of us are, if you're in leadership of any kind or in the fitness wellness space, we need to shift the focus back to our community, to the people that we hope to serve, because then the fear just kind of disappears. Disappears. Yeah. That's that old adage. Put yourself in other people's shoes. That's there for a reason, right? Right. So do it. Put yourself in other people's shoes and the energy definitely shifts in a good way. Yeah.

And then one more tip we have to share with you is to practice authentic leadership. This is something that ⁓ Petra Colbert, dear friend of ours, shared in one of her lectures once and always stuck with me. And that is that, you know, we need to drop the mask of perfection because we as humans, like as leaders and being in service, what do we want to create with other people? Connection. Well, guess what?

We as humans do not connect through perfection. We actually kind of connect through our cracks. So thank you Petra for that one. So know that it's okay in this place of service to just be human, to be raw, to be authentic, share bits of your journey, the lessons you've learned. You know, they always say don't bring your personal life into your work and we're encouraging you if you're, it's impossible if you're in a place of service, you know, I wouldn't necessarily bring in just the negative to commiserate. Yeah, it's not about drama, but

if it's something that maybe you've overcome or something that you've struggled with and found some tools to help you get better, being able to share that we're not perfect, that we can own that. And also guess what? You're going to make mistakes while you're teaching, while you're coaching, while you're training. We do all the time while we're recording a podcast. But you're going to make mistakes. so don't.

Don't judge yourself harshly for that or think others are going to be judging you for that. Sometimes it's in those moments where we show a little crack or a lot of crack. Depends on how crack you have.

When we show, how about, let me put it this way, reword, rewind. you show... Faults, imperfections. I just wanted to show an example. Well, you can show whatever you want. I'm not gonna show Keep it clean, keep it clean. All right, how about this? If you show like a kink in the armor, right? Because we want to be out there and be strong.

I just want to notice, notice, I want you to notice I'm trying to move on. Impossible, impossible.

No, but truly, it's like the cracks in the shell, the kinks in the armor, where we are imperfect. That's when people can really relate to us because they've made mistakes too. They understand what it's like to not be perfect. We all do. So why not allow ourselves to be vulnerable enough to connect on that level? Well, yeah, yesterday, I just just experienced it yesterday when I ⁓ shared a ripped season 60 with our class for the very first time yesterday. wow. And

Everything was going smoothly and I was excited that everything was going well. All my cues were on, all the moves were on. And then I got to the last song, the endurance section, which is my favorite section. this is, you everything is going smoothly and I'm feeling pretty good about myself. I'm not gonna lie. Get to the last section, the endurance section, which is like the mixed martial arts section, my favorite section. And I'm like, oh, we're gonna knock this out of the park and strong, right? And on a high. I had the wrong music cut.

and it was just a train wreck. ⁓ my gosh. So, you know, but at first I was like getting really frustrated with myself and then I thought, you know what, let it go. This is, it is what it is. are not all that. Show your crack.

I was showing my cracks. Yeah. And it was all right. And they couldn't care less with the Yeah, they loved all the cracks.

So it was very authentic, it was very humbling. And it really, ⁓ it was humbling. Yeah, I can imagine. I can imagine. But just for the record, you are all that. well, thank you. Yeah, and sometimes a bag of chips. The baked chips, course, the kettle chips. See, even the best instructors on the planet mess up. It's all good.

Yeah, so mean, imposter syndrome may show up. It's going to show up, but it's inevitable. It's bound to. Right. But it doesn't have to stay. Every time you choose to lead from service, from a place where you can celebrate your wins and show up authentically, like Kimberly said, you really do step into your true power. It's really true. Yeah, absolutely. Well, we would love to hear from you now. You've heard from us. more than you bargained for.

But have you ever felt imposter syndrome? Share that with us. Because as an instructor, a leader, just in life, it can happen. So we'd love to hear from you and be able to root you on. ⁓ And just remember that we're all in this together, supporting each other. share and ⁓ let everyone know that we're not alone. We're all in it. Absolutely. So please make sure you drop your story in the comments if you're watching this on the Shenanigans on YouTube. Tom Fullery. This Tom Fullery.

you know, share this episode with somebody who needs a confidence boost perhaps today. And let's continue to keep this conversation going, keep it flowing, keep it alive. And just remember, you are not an imposter. You're exactly where you're meant to be, who you're meant to be, and you are awesome. So, I'm Terry Shorter. I'm Kimberly Spreen Glick. And we appreciate you joining in. As always, we encourage you to make it a great day today. And why? Because it is a great day to have. Yes, it is. Take care. Much love.