How do I stop feeling like everyone else has it figured out?

The feeling that everyone else has life figured out while you're still struggling to understand basic adulting is a common but painful illusion created by comparing your internal experience of confusion and uncertainty to others' external presentation of identity development/building-confidence" class="internal-link">confidence building and success. You see other people's highlight reels - their achievements, their seemingly perfect Interpersonal relationship, their career success - while being intimately aware of your own doubts, mistakes, and areas where you feel clueless. The truth is that everyone is essentially improvising their way through life, making decisions with incomplete information, and learning from mistakes along the way. The people who seem most put-together are often just better at hiding their struggles or have learned to appear confident even when they feel uncertain. Social media intensifies this illusion by showing you carefully curated versions of people's lives that emphasize success while hiding the messy, uncertain parts. Many adults admit that they still feel like they're pretending to know what they're doing and waiting for someone to realize they're not qualified for their own lives. Instead of comparing your behind-the-scenes reality to others' public presentations, focus on your own growth and learning. Remember that identity/building-confidence" class="internal-link">confidence building often comes from experience, and everyone had to learn the things that now seem natural to them. Ask trusted friends or mentors about their own struggles and uncertainties - you'll often find that people you admire have faced similar doubts and challenges to yours.