Imposter syndrome
Imposter syndrome is experiencing not having a sense of your own success. Internally, you don’t see and don’t believe success that others can clearly see. Originally studied in the 1970’s as ‘Imposter Phenomenon’ lens, it was specifically looking at women. However, researchers have found that men and women equally suffer from feelings of self-doubt (Leonhardt et al, 2017). While “Imposter Syndrome” has been widely thought to be a ‘woman’s. issue,’ the truth is far more complex. As we now know that men and women equally experience feelings of not feeling deserving or worthy, it is much more common for men to feel the need to project awknowlegement of their own success, even if they don’t genuinely feel deserving of that success. Whereas women are constantly told by society that they should not be proud of their success. Neither situation allows for key elements of breaking the cycle of imposter syndrome.
“You either walk inside your story and own it, or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness”
Many women have been made to create their own norms and avenues towards success as ‘professionalism’ is culturally biased and skewed towards the definition of success that culture creates that has been defined by white, cis-gendered, wealthy men. Imposter Syndrome is defeated by learning to understand the power of our own abilities and build resilience against the chasing after the idea of what we think success looks like.
Feelings of imposter syndrome know no bounds. They even affect the most successful people at their craft, regardless of how ‘obvious’ their success may appear on the outside. For many people, they accept a new project or challenge, procrastinate as they fear they won’t be good enough, push to get across the line and then justify their success as luck and are grateful that they haven’t been “found out.” When we don’t contend with feelings of self-worth and recognition of our own abilities, it can build and eventually inhibit our well-being. This can mean experiencing increased levels of exhaustion, emotional stress, cynisism, and burnout.
People cope with these anxious feelings differently, but some strategies include giving yourself the permission to fail (and grow), taking up space, relinquishing the need to be perfect, and owning your success. Developing skills that help us stay in the moment blocks our brains from spiraling down the anxious rabbit hole of imposter syndrome and self-doubt.
Overcoming imposter syndrome
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When procrastination stops you from making forward progress, it is common for our brains to continue to feed us thoughts of self-doubt. By taking the first steps, we are embracing the unknown and defeating paralytic negative thoughts.
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Giving yourself the grace to fail and learn from failures allows you to grow. Sharing with a coach, psychologist, teammate, or friend may help you feel less isolated.
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Acknowledging and validating your feelings helps to accept them and let go of the feelings of the inadequacy.
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Letting go of the feeling of perfectionism allows you to show up without fear of accepting new opportunities or challenges out of fear that you won’t be able to achieve them with perfection.
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Learn to internalize your own accomplishment and celebrate your own competency and mastery.
More Resources….
Resources
Leonhardt, M., Bechtoldt, M. N., and Rohrmann, S. (2017). All impostors aren’t alike–differentiating the impostor phenomenon. Front. Psychol. 8:1505. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01505
McGinnis, H. D. (2023, February 21). Identifying the impostor within: Part 1. IR Quarterly. https://irq.sirweb.org/education/identifying-the-impostor-within-part-1/