You’ve worked hard, you’ve taken the courses, you’ve learned and experienced a lot — but somehow it all just doesn’t feel real. Whenever you are praised for your skills, talents, or accomplishments, you feel fearful that you will be exposed as a fraud — even though you are obviously not a fraud.
This, my friend, is imposter syndrome. Sadly, this psychological syndrome affects women at a higher rate than men, but it exists in all sexes in all classes. About half of all people experienced imposter syndrome at one time or another, according to one poll.
If you suffer from this syndrome, it’s important to recognize it and work toward eradicating it from your life. In fact, recognizing it is the primary key to fighting it.
- Retrain Your Thoughts. If you ever think things like, “this was all luck” about your success, it’s time to retrain your thoughts. Instead of thinking that, go over the reasons you could do what you did. It was more than likely due to the experience, education, and action you took.
- Assign Value. When you can verify or quantify the value that you provide to others, then you can help your mind accept that what you do is valuable and not a matter of just luck. Record data about the impact your work does for people. (Number of interviews generated, jobs you’ve helped them achieve, salary increases, etc.)
- Read About It. There are numerous books about imposter syndrome. These books will help you understand whether you have the syndrome and what to do to help you move past it. One to check out is “Ditching Imposter Syndrome: How To Finally Feel Good Enough and Become The Leader You Were Born To Be,” by Clare Josa.
- Get Professional Help. If none of the advice given helps, you can go to a therapist or find a life coach to help you overcome imposter syndrome. Many counselors are trained in this syndrome, and many life coaches are very aware of it and now know to help you overcome it.
