Imposter Syndrome

We have all heard about it and probably experienced it at one time or another in our lives. Creating my own website gave me a dose of Imposter Syndrome, which gave me the idea of my first website blog.

Its the feeling of not feeling good enough, a fraud and comparing ourselves to others who we think are much more competent than we are. So I looked up the official meaning of Imposter Syndrome and AI supplied me with this explanation:

“a psychological phenomenon that causes people to persistently doubt their skills, accomplishments and intellect, despite evidence of their competence.”

Evidence is the key word here because its usually only our perception of our competence that causes us to doubt ourselves and manifest a feeling of inadequacy. A fear of being exposed as a fraud is a big concern, as well as self doubt.

Its a common phenomenon (a word that surprised me because the definition of phenomenon is “a rare of significant fact or event”) but not that surprising I suppose because we as humans, often feel inadequate.

Syndrome is a set of symptoms, so that makes sense. Did you know that there are five types of Imposter Syndrome? The Perfectionist. The Superhuman. The Natural Genius. The Expert and the Soloist.

The Perfectionist

A person who sets excessively high standards for themselves and then feeling inadequate when they don’t reach absolute perfection.

The Superhuman

A person who feels pressured to take on everything perfectly, eventually leading to burnout and a sense of being a fraud because they were unable to meet unrealistic expectations.

The Natural Genius

Believe that their success’s are due to their natural talent instead of hard work and effort, so if they are not instantly successful or need to work hard, they feel they are a fraud.

The Expert

Feel like they need to know everything in their field to feel competent which leads to anxiety and self doubt when the feel like they lack expertise or encounter new challenges,

The Soloist

Believe they have to do everything themselves and struggle to ask for help or delegate because they feel that they need to prove their worth.

Which one do you resonate with?

How to overcome Imposter Syndrome?

First thing is to normalise it. Everybody feels inadequate and compare themselves to others at some time or another.

Then think about situations, thoughts or feelings that are associated with Imposter Syndrome. Is there a theme, when your confidence is challenged in certain situations (like when your performance at work is under scrutiny, or if you are a parent, do you feel that your skills are lacking compared with your peers?)

Try to challenge those thoughts and feelings which are normally self critical, with other, more realistic ones which are backed up with evidence. Seperate feelings from facts; this is most important because we tend to ignore the positive, actual facts and home in on the negative thoughts instead. Which is very counter productive of course.

Celebrate your successes and keep a record of your achievements and the positive feedback you received and most of all practice self compassion by being kind to yourself and acknowledge your achievements.

This is a coping mechanism that does take a while to master because we are so often self critical instead. It takes practice but is worthwhile in the long run and if you can use your support network to help celebrate your goals and remind you of them, Imposter Syndrome may even become a distant part of your life.