Imposter Syndrome: Being your own worst enemy
What is Imposter Syndrome?
Well, it looks like this:
I’m sat at my laptop wondering what makes me qualified enough to write an article about Imposter Syndrome. Worried that I’ll get found out because I’m not an expert on the subject – I don’t have a degree in Imposter Syndrome, so who am I to write about it? I am a fraud.
That right there is my inner critic, fuelling self-limiting beliefs that I am not good enough or qualified enough to write about a topic, even though, I can tell you that I have struggled with Imposter Syndrome and I’m pretty sure that many people have at some point in their lives, whether it be in their job or personal life. Some of the most recognisably successful people have spoken openly about their battles with Imposter Syndrome; Maya Angelou, Sheryl Sandberg and Albert Einstein, to name a few.
Simply put, Imposter Syndrome is the overwhelming fear that people will discover that you are no good at something and that you will be exposed and then suffer disastrous consequences, regardless of your knowledge, experience and qualifications. You feel like you don’t deserve to be where you are because you’re not good enough.
Causes and behaviours of Imposter Syndrome
There are a number of things that can trigger Imposter Syndrome, these can include:
Being the first to do something where there are no relatable role models
Being in a completely new position or situation
Being a go-to person – when people look to you for the answers
Feeling different in the environment you are in / a sense of not belonging
Shame and blame cultures.
So, how do you recognise if you or others struggle with Imposter Syndrome? Well, here are some of the tell-tale behaviours:
Language: dismissing achievements or playing them down, disguising them as modesty
Not owning your successes
Procrastination: the master of self-sabotage!
Over working and over preparing
Not finishing things
Holding yourself back and convincing yourself you aren’t good enough. For instance, not pushing your career development and going for a promotion.
Do any of these sounds familiar to you?
Tackling Imposter Syndrome
Like anything, it’s useful to recognise your behaviour first and acknowledge that Imposter Syndrome may be playing a part in your life. The solution is not simple - escaping it requires work and introducing good habits that can start to block out your inner critic.
Some of these habits can be:
Reframing thoughts: Let’s ditch that negative language. The more you talk yourself down, the worse you will feel and that benefits absolutely no one. Instead, when your mind starts firing off negatives, ask yourself some questions:
What negative beliefs of mine are getting in the way at the moment? Who are they benefitting?
What positive factors do I have that I am overlooking?
What’s useful right now?
What options do I have that might help?
Journaling: This has become increasingly trendy over the last few years, but there is a lot to be said for writing positive things on paper. If you take just a few moments a day to reflect on the good things you have done and how they impacted you and others, your mind will start to ‘rewire’ and erase negative bias. It gives your mind something useful to do instead of getting sucked into a negative downward spiral.
Embrace your achievements instead of dismissing them: Look back at how you got to where you are. Be objective. It’s good to pause, own your successes and revel in your knowledge. Dismissing your achievements is not being modest; it’s not giving your hard work and time justice.
Empower yourself to ask questions: Nobody knows everything. That’s a fact. There is no weakness in asking questions, in fact, asking questions is a recognised leadership strength and is a means to probe and challenge, and to uncover new opportunities. Consider questions as opportunities to uncover more knowledge. If you never ask, you’ll never know.
Overcome perfectionism: Easier said than done I know, but letting perfect be the enemy of good will only work against you.
So, how did I get past it when I sat down to write this article? Well, I reflected on my knowledge, experience and qualifications and thought about how I got to this moment. I recognised that I could write this article and it doesn’t have to be perfect. I focused on what really matters, which is sharing this knowledge with others who may benefit from it in some way. I’ll be honest, it was difficult and the very idea of sharing this on LinkedIn is unnerving, but this is part of tackling that inner critic and it’s time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable because that’s how we change behaviours and grow.
Imposter syndrome may be something that you struggle with at different points in your life, depending on what situations you are faced with, but having the tools in place to manage it is a great way to start kicking it out of the door.
