Imposter Syndrome Thoughts
“Who am I to teach people anything?”
“I am so not qualified to do this.”
“People will find out soon enough that I don’t know as much as they think I do.”
“I can’t do this, everyone else is so much smarter, better or more talented than I am.”
“I don’t deserve this success.”
We have all been there
Oh man. Those thoughts. Any of those thoughts sound familiar to you? I will be honest, I have had every single one of those thoughts at some point in my life, in every career I have had. Every. Single. Fucking. One.
My guess is that maybe you have had one or two of those yourself right? No matter what your profession – whether you are a corporate girl or a mompreneur – you might have had a moment where you questioned your talent or ability or wondered how you even got a seat at the table. Am I right?
Imposter Syndrome
You might even believe that any success you achieved came from luck or other forces outside of your control and that at any moment people will discover that you really aren’t as good as they think you are. Can anyone relate? Well, I certainly can! And guess what. There is a name for how you are feeling and it is called Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter Syndrome is described as a feeling of “phoniness in people who believe that they are not intelligent, capable or creative despite evidence of high achievement.”
So basically, someone with Imposter Syndrome can feel inadequate in their profession, despite their success! Researchers have gone so far as to say that nearly 70% of all people have felt this at some point in their lives!
The good news, if there is some, is that typically this syndrome doesn’t happen to people who aren’t high achievers. So, if you have felt like this for even a second in your life, most likely you are kicking ass. So congrats!!
But aside from that, Imposter Syndrome can really screw with a person and even stop them from going for bigger and better things in life.
4 Ways to Avoid feeling like an Imposter
So, what can you do stop those thoughts and be confident in who you are and what you know?
1. Let go of perfection and focus on your sparkle. Here is the thing. You don’t have to be perfect to bring tremendous value to your clients, customers or your employer. There is such power in being able to recognize that your specific set of talents are worthy and valuable to others. You don’t have to be the most popular, the most successful or have the biggest following on social media to enrich, help and inspire the world around you. It’s all about self-acceptance here. Your inner sparkle is what makes you unique. Take that sparkle and throw it around like confetti!
2. Luck didn’t get you anything. Hard work did. Own it girl. Understand that luck really doesn’t play a part in the success you have achieved. You’ve gotten to where you are today based on your hard work, determination and focus. So often, people who suffer from Imposter Syndrome focus on what they didn’t achieve vs. what they did accomplish. Take a minute to think about some of your wins in the last year and then think about how it happened. My guess, luck had nothing to do it with it! Own your success, don’t be afraid to celebrate it and tell the world what you’ve done!
3. Get off the comparison hamster wheel! Comparing yourself to others is a surefire way to stifle your drive, creativity, ambition and make you feel unworthy. It is super easy to see what others are doing and think you can’t measure up to their success. Especially when you are starting out. In reality, you totally can, and might even surpass them if you let yourself.
4. Stay Hungry and fabulous. If you take anything away from this article it’s this. Don’t be afraid to go after what you want even if you are afraid of being “found out”. Playing it safe might make you feel “protected” and like you are reducing your risk of exposure but it will also risk your chance for greatness. As women especially, we must have the courage and strength to try new things even if they leave us feeling vulnerable.
The time for us to shine is now. So have courage, be brave and stay fabulous even when you are feeling unsure…..never let anyone or anything, including yourself, dull your sparkle!
