𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨 𝐏𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡

This morning I’m thinking about a phrase that gets thrown around a lot, especially among professionals: 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘺𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘦.

Over the weekend, I found myself working through the landscaping, pulling weeds—mostly grasses and other strays that had crept in where they didn’t belong. And as I crawled through the plants, tugging at those stubborn roots, I couldn’t shake some persistent thoughts of inadequacy.

It was that feeling again: Imposter Syndrome. The kind that creeps in when you're stuck between a nearly year-long job search and a corn crop that’s nothing short of disappointing.

You can call it whatever you want, but it often boils down to a quiet, nagging voice whispering: “𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦.”

Pulling weeds, in a way, mirrored that process of tending to the emotional clutter. It’s not glamorous, but sometimes you have to kneel down and deal with what’s grown where it shouldn’t. Doubt. Frustration. Insecurity. Just like unwanted plants, they won’t go away on their own.

Maybe we all need a few Stuart Smalley moments now and then—when we look in the mirror and remind ourselves:

“𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒈𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”