When your inner critic decides you’re not enough of an expert to make a video
This is the last in my series on inner critics and videos. Start here with the overview post.
When the inner critic claims you’re not an expert and stops you from making videos because of that, it feels so legitimate. Like “yeah, no one gave me a certificate of expertise in this topic” or “well, I haven’t studied this topic in school or dedicated my life to it so I must not be an expert.”
I’ve seen this inner criticism come up a lot with video because of its public, visual nature. It feels like making a video is equal to announcing to the world that you are an expert in this topic. That can be scary and vulnerable.
Creating videos will push you to unearth previously-hidden judgments of yourself (👋🏻inner critic). However, through the process, you will change and grow as a person, and learn more about the topic. For those reasons alone, making videos can be tremendously worthwhile, even if you don’t feel like you’re enough of an expert on a topic.
I’m ready to call BS on this idea of “experts.” Let’s dive in and get real about this.
📚Who actually is an expert?
The inner critic is using the idea of an “expert” to stop you from taking up space. While there are experts who are certified or study a topic in school (e.g. doctor, lawyer, pilot, etc.), there are a lot of people out there who are considered experts and haven’t been certified or studied the topic. They’ve learned through their real-world experiences and know more than the average person about a subject. That’s my idea of an expert.
Besides medical associations and the like, there is no one who going to decide that you’re now officially an expert. If your audience knows less about the topic than you do - you’re an expert! If they know more than you, then sit down and learn from them.
And sometimes folks know parts of a topic better than you and you might know other things better than them. Cool! That means you are both experts in your areas and can share information to level up (if you choose to do so).
🧠You have the right to change your mind
Let’s also remember that experts can be wrong, too. They can change their minds and grow their practice as they expand their knowledge.
Don’t let the constant change of things stop you from sharing your knowledge. There will always be new things to learn and grow.
A real expert seeks out new information and changes their opinions based on that info. You can create videos based off what you know in this moment and change it later. That’s A-OK!
🪡Example time!
I’ve been sewing for 20 years. I’ve made jeans, coats, and a bridesmaid dress as well as a lot of other garments. I can’t even give you a rough estimate of how many pieces of clothing I’ve made over the years. It’s clear that I know more about sewing than the average person.
Still, I hesitate to call myself an expert because I haven’t published any articles or videos about sewing. I feel like I have a lot to learn. My bar is high for who is and is not an expert on sewing.
That being said, I am an expert to someone who’s never touched a sewing machine before. I’m an expert to someone who just needs their pants hemmed a little bit (no, I won’t do that for you - I highly recommend finding an amazing tailor!😉).
Both statements about my expertise are true - I could say I am and I am not an expert. It just depends on the perspective of the person who’s watching my video or looking at my Instagram story.
🏷️Attaching the label of expert or non-expert doesn’t matter
One way to get past this hurdle is to recognize that the label of expert doesn’t really matter - you don’t have to claim expertise to share something that’s informed by your perspective and/or experiences. You don’t have to apply the expert or not-expert labels to yourself.
If you know something that could help another person, does it even matter whether you are an expert? Acknowledging that might ease up enough pressure to let you move ahead.
✍🏽 Another way to combat the inner critic on this phrase
I’ve also countered this particular inner criticism by writing down specific reasons why I’m an expert in a subject. But make them super specific!
For example, if I needed to boost my confidence in my sewing skills, I might write down that I’ve handled advanced techniques like a French seam and adapted patterns to better fit my body.
The inner critic thrives on generalities so the more specific you can make something, the better!
If your inner critic loves to hold you back by saying that you don’t know enough, try these questions to reframe that phrase.
Video affirmation if you tell yourself “you’re not enough of an expert to make videos”
🕵🏼♀️Questions that’ll help you reframe your inner critic’s perspective:
What if there is no expert on this?
Who is considered an expert here and why are they considered the “expert”?
What if I can explain this thing better than the experts because I remember what it’s like being a beginner or because I can summarize it well?
Have I ever felt like I’ve had knowledge to share in the past? How did I share knowledge in a way that helped others?
If we as viewers only decided to listen to a handful of “experts” because they were named the authority on a topic, the world would be bland and monotonous. We don’t all have the same experiences or perspectives. By not sharing our stories for fear of not having enough expertise, the world would miss out on our nuance, diversity, resilience, and power.
Your expertise and perspective is a gift. Your people are out there and they want to hear from you.
A final note
There are probably a million more phrases that keep people from making videos. It’d be impossible to talk about all of them, but hopefully, now you can hear the individual phrases that your inner critic loves to shout in your head.
We all tackle our inner critic in different ways based on our privileges, situations, and energy levels. However, you can heed the warnings of your inner critic, get the wisdom, and reframe the phrases by thinking of specific situations when that story was not true.
It’s a process, but you can change the story your inner critic is telling you. Don’t let it talk you out of sharing your stories, your value, and your gifts through video, if that’s what you want to do.
