How to overcome Imposter Syndrome. Conquer self-doubt and unleash your true potential! Learn to silence that inner critic, build confidence, and authentically embrace your achievements.
How to overcome Imposter Syndrome is a question many ask themselves. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome. Do you sometimes worry that you will be “found out”, that your colleagues (or other people) know more than you? That your work must be flawless at all times or that you’re not meeting expectations? Do you feel like you don’t belong in your professional position or that your position in life is mostly down to luck?
Then you might be experiencing Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is loosely defined as doubting your abilities or sometimes feeling like a fraud. It refers to an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be.
Imposter syndrome can affect anyone no matter their social status, work background, skill level, degree, or expertise. In fact, it often affects high-achieving people who find it difficult to accept their accomplishments.
What does Imposter Syndrome look like?
Some of the common signs of impostor syndrome include self-doubt. An inability to realistically assess your competence and skills, attributing your success to external factors. This could look like berating your performance, fear that you won’t live up to expectations, sabotaging your own success, setting unrealistic goals and feeling disappointed when you fall short.
Imposter syndrome can look like a vicious cycle of anxiety and short-term relief. This may look like feelings of anxiety over your ability for achieving your goals; followed by short term relief when you achieve the goal, but then sometimes more anxiety that the result wasn’t good enough.
It can look like low self-confidence as in fear of failure, self-doubt, the feeling of not being enough. Fear of lack of achievement with thoughts like “will it be good enough” or “will I let people down”. It can also be fear of success leading to thoughts such as “If I succeed will I be good enough to continue?”.
How to overcome Imposter Syndrome
The Perfectionist trap
People who experience Imposter Syndrome often have a strong need to be the best. They tend to be perfectionists in all things. They set unrealistic outcomes and set themselves up to fail because they’ve created unrealistic goals. One example would be passing an exam with a pass mark of 70% but being disappointed that you did not achieve 100%.
Another sign is an unwillingness to internalize positive feedback and being unable to take on board constructive criticism to improve, instead of viewing it as a negative outcome confirming your thoughts of inadequacy.
And lastly, Imposter syndrome can look like self-sabotage where you experience a constant internal struggle between achieving success and avoiding being “found out”. This struggle prevents many from reaching their potential.
The 5 types of Imposters
How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome
Dr Valerie Young has spent decades researching fraudulent feelings among high achievers and has identified 5 ways of how Impostor Syndrome can manifest in people’s lives: the Perfectionist, the Superwoman/man, the Natural Genius, the Soloist and the Expert.
Through her personal research, Young revealed several “competence types” or internal rules that people who struggle with confidence attempt to follow.
The Perfectionist
People who aim for perfection often experience high levels of anxiety, doubt, and worry, especially when they fail to achieve their extreme goals. Perfectionists are usually dissatisfied with their work. They tend to focus on areas where they could have done better rather than celebrate the things they did well.
The Superwoman/man
Superwomen/men often excel in all areas, mainly because they push themselves so hard. Many workaholics can be classed as superheroes. This overload of work will eventually result in burnout, which can affect physical health, mental well-being, and relationships with others.
The Natural Genius
Natural geniuses are typically able to master a new skill quickly and easily, and they often feel ashamed and weak when they can’t. People who fall into this category fail to recognize that nearly everyone needs to build upon their skills throughout life to succeed.
The Soloist
The soloist may also be known as the rugged individualist. They prefer to work alone and tend to believe that asking for help will reveal their incompetence. A soloist will typically turn down help so that they can prove their worth as an individual.
The Expert
The expert will not feel satisfied when finishing a task until they feel that they know everything about the subject. Experts continuously hunt for new information, which prevents them from completing tasks and projects. Those who avoid applying for a job because they do not meet every requirement may fall into that category of the expert.
Why do people experience impostor syndrome?
How to overcome Imposter Syndrome
Studies suggest about 70 per cent of people admit to feeling imposter syndrome at some point. This means you are not alone! Many people worry about not performing well enough at their jobs, not getting good enough grades, or having as much knowledge and experience as the next person. While this is common – and, to some degree, normal – some people worry in ways that are irrational. They worry about not being good enough when they have evidence to the contrary. They might dismiss their success as luck, timing or even as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be. Those are the people who are likely experiencing imposter syndrome.
known factors
There are a few known certain factors that contribute to the more general experience of impostor syndrome. For example, coming from a family that highly values achievements, or having parents that flip back and forth between offering praise and being critical. Entering a new role can also trigger imposter syndrome like starting college or university or a new career.
Also, impostor syndrome and social anxiety may overlap meaning that a person with social anxiety may feel as though they don’t belong in social or performance situations. However, this does not mean that everyone with impostor syndrome has social anxiety or vice versa.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Question your thoughts
One of the first steps to get past imposter syndrome is to acknowledge the thoughts and put them in perspective. When an imposter’s thought pops up, simply observe it instead of engaging with it. As you start to assess your abilities, question whether your thoughts are rational. Does it really make sense that you are a fraud, given everything that you know?
It’s also helpful to know that most people experience moments of doubt, and that’s normal. The important part is not to let that doubt control your actions.
Stop comparing
Every time you compare yourself to others in a social situation, you will find some fault with yourself that fuels the feeling of not being good enough or not belonging. Instead, during conversations, focus on listening to what the other person is saying. Be genuinely interested in learning more.
Your mistake does not mean that you’ve failed
Don’t beat yourself up when you make a mistake. Mistakes are only mistakes if you don’t learn and grow from them. Get into the habit of using every piece of feedback you get as an opportunity to improve and strengthen yourself and remember “it’s not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent, it is the one that is most adaptable to change.”
Use positive self-talk
Oftentimes, the narratives that we tell ourselves are negative and self-defeating. Remind yourself to be more mindful of your thoughts and the stories you tell about yourself. When you catch yourself thinking or saying negative things like “I can’t do this,” or “I’ve never been good at this,” instead replace those things with more positive talk. Start telling yourself things like “I believe in my abilities,” and “I think this is something I can get good at.”.
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Things to practice going forward
How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome
Now that you know more about your Imposter syndrome and how to deal with it when it pops up. Here are a few things to practice when going forward.
Take credit where it is due
This can feel uncomfortable or unnatural to many of us – try starting by simply saying “thank you” when someone pays you a compliment or gives you credit.
Stop minimizing your abilities
Using words such as “just” when we refer to ourselves or our skills and abilities, can not only give us a negative self-concept, but they can make others see us negatively too. Try swapping the word “just” for “AM”. Examples: Instead of saying “I am JUST a teacher”, start saying “I AM a teacher”. When sharing knowledge, try changing your statements from, “I don’t know much about this but…” to “this is what I know about this topic”.
Ask for help and don’t be afraid to be vulnerable
Asking for help from time to time doe not take away from your strength and independence. On the contrary, asking for help is a sign of strength and resilience. It shows that you have courage and self-awareness. You see, strength doesn’t always come from yourself, your body or your brain. It also comes from surrounding yourself with people who love you and can provide guidance and help.
Give yourself compliments and credit
Tell yourself when you believe you’ve done well. Don’t be afraid to even tell others about these things you have done well, achieved or learned.
Remember if you are feeling like an imposter sometimes it means you have some degree of success in your life, even though you might attribute that to luck. Try instead to turn that feeling into one of gratitude. Look at what you have accomplished and be grateful. Use the actions above to fight your fear of being “found out” and instead lean into the feeling of gratitude. You accomplished all those things!
