Is Imposter Syndrome Keeping you Stuck?
by Marji Keith
Imposter Syndrome can be a relentless whisper in our ears, making us doubt our achievements and attribute them to external factors. Surprisingly some of the most successful people in the world experience imposter syndrome. We may believe that we got where we are due to a fluke or dumb luck. We may feel we don’t belong in the position we are in, or at the school we got into. We may shy away from applying for a job or meeting a certain person because we feel we are not good enough.
Imposter Syndrome often leads us to deflect our accomplishments, saying things like, "I had a lot of help," or "It was just luck," or "they didn't notice that I'm lacking some qualifications so it's a mistake that they accepted me."
On a personal note, I need to continually remind myself that I am indeed qualified, capable and deserving of the successes that have taken place in my life. And I'm deservieng of the opportunities, relationships and successes that I want to take place in the future. Going through a career change mid-life it’s often easy to look around at all the qualified people who seem more capable because of their degrees, skills, experiences that are different than mine, or resources that I feel lacking in.
I have found myself downplaying my achievements because I don’t believe others would see them as relevant. My own achievements feel normal (to me, that is) and not a big deal. But when I tell others about my life they are often quite impressed. For example I speak several languages and lived overseas for 15 years and ran my own business. For me (and my imposter syndrome) that is just the life I've led and, well, what good is all of that without a graduate degree and the many other things I can come up with that I have NOT accomplished.
I am guilty of “other enhancement” -meaning I tend to think other’s can do what I cannot (apply for an executive job, sing in front of others, give a Ted Talk…) because they have the right degree, skills, money, etc and I somehow believe I am not in that category.
The truth is that we are all unique. And the world runs on our unique stories. The stories we tell ourselves, the stories we make up about other people. If I hold on to the story of my own limitations and my own shortcomings rather than facing the challenge of a new and better story about possibilities, I will continue to play it small, believe myself to not be worthy and miss out on a lot that life has to offer.
Constantly undermining your accomplishments and believing that others are somehow better than you is a good excuse for procrastination and failure to take action. And the less often we take action the lower our chances of success. Think of it like working a muscle. If you go to the gym consistently, you build that muscle and you build health for life. The more you don’t do it, the worse off you are. Same for building wealth or building a business. So whereever it is that you feel imposter syndrome and it’s keeping you stuck, pay attention to it and consider the importance of pushing through it.
Here are a few tips on how to battle imposter syndrome:
- Ask yourself: “What did I do to contribute to this success?" This is valid even for small accomplishments like finally making it to the gym or posting your first video on social media.
- Reflect on past achievements, recognizing your role in each of them. Your hard work, dedication, and unique skills were and are significant contributors to past and future success
- Face your procrastination head on. Procrastination is often used as a strategy for self doubt. Ask yourself what is holding you back if you find yourself not taking action for no good reason.
- Take small, consistent steps toward your goals and keep goals realistic.
- Practice gratitude daily. Keep a gratitude journal and write down at least three things per day that you are grateful for and how you contributed to them.
Don’t give away your success to Imposter Syndrome. We say “well, I had a lot of help writing it…” or “everyone in the audience was drunk so that’s why they thought I was funny.” When you find yourself having these thoughts, replace them with reflections on your own contributions to that success, congratulate yourself on your wins and celebrate those wins, small and big.