Category: Career & Purpose; Tarot Tips | Reading Time: 4 Minutes
The email notification just popped up on your phone. You see the word “Congratulations” or “Offer” in the subject line.
For a split second, you feel the spark. Then, the ice sets in.
Instead of celebrating, you are already drafting the mental apology for when they “figure you out.”
You are sitting in a professional office, but you feel like a toddler who put on their parent’s suit as a joke. You’re waiting for the door to burst open and a team of “Real Adults” to escort you out of the building for being a total fraud.
Put the paper bag away. You aren’t a fraud.
You are simply suffering from the Small Cat Complex. You are looking in the mirror and seeing a tiny, shivering kitten while the rest of the world is looking at you and seeing a lion.
The Science: The Reverse Dunning-Kruger Effect
Here is the science on why your brain is lying to you.
You’ve heard of the Dunning-Kruger Effect (where incompetent people think they are geniuses), right? Well, you are suffering from the reverse.
Truly incompetent people do not worry about being frauds. They are too busy being confident in their ignorance.
The fact that you are terrified of being a fake is the ultimate proof that you are the real deal.
Your anxiety is a side effect of your competence. You know enough to know how much you don’t know. That isn’t weakness; that is high-level awareness.
Tarot Diagnosis: Page of Pentacles vs. Six of Wands
In the deck, you have accidentally parked your energy in the Page of Pentacles.
The Page is a lovely soul. He is studious, careful, and stares obsessively at the one coin he holds.
But he is a Perpetual Student. He never speaks without checking a textbook first. He assumes everyone else in the room is wiser and more “authorized” to be there.
This energy is useful when you are an intern. It is a disaster when you are the boss.
You need to shift into the Six of Wands.
Look at the card: The rider is on a horse, wearing a laurel wreath. He isn’t checking a textbook. He is riding through the crowd, accepting the applause.
You are still waiting for a permission slip from the universe to be the expert.
Newsflash: The universe does not write permission slips. You have to write your own. You have already paid your dues. You are no longer standing at the gate; you are inside the house. Stop acting surprised that your key fits the lock.
The Audacity of the House Cat
I want you to observe my cat, Bane, for a moment.
Bane is 12 years old. He pays zero dollars in rent, has never contributed to the grocery bill. And when he attended a performance review every month, he only groomed himself beside me.
Yet, when he walks anywhere in the house, his tail is a vertical flag of pure authority.
He doesn’t ask if he is “worthy” of the sunbeam on the rug. He assumes the sun was placed there specifically for his afternoon nap.
You need a dose of this healthy delusion.
Real confidence is not the belief that you know everything; that is just arrogance. True confidence is simply trusting your ability to figure it out as you go.
There is a quote I’ve kept on my desktop wallpaper for years. I don’t know who wrote it, but it helps me somehow: ‘I know not that I had the skill to do it, but that I had the skill to learn to do it.’
Stop Checking Your ID
You are already in the room. You have already been “chosen.”
Stop checking your own badge every five minutes to see if you are allowed to be there. Security isn’t coming for you.
Straighten your spine. Walk like you pay the mortgage.
You have earned your seat at the table, even if you’re still getting used to the view.
🔮 Believe in yourself more
The mirror is lying to you. It is showing you your old fears instead of your current capabilities.
Disclaimer: TarotPaw content is for entertainment and spiritual support only. We are cats, not doctors, lawyer, or financial advisor. This content is not intended to replace professional (medical, legal, or financial) advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are in crisis, please contact a professional or call your local emergency services.
