As a Business and Success coach, I answer questions about business and your own personal path to success. Send your questions in to risha@yorkemotivational.com.
At what point do I feel confident in my work? Sometimes I feel underqualified, second guess myself, feel like someone is going to call me out for being bad at my job. – Anonymous
Imposter Syndrome. It’s so brutal!
In my experience, it’s a mindset issue that takes time and effort to break. Even then, it rears its ugly head occasionally at the most inopportune times. Here are a few things to remember to help you overcome Imposter Syndrome.
You know more than you think. Experts take their knowledge for granted. How often have you thought that advice, information, or knowledge you have shared felt too commonplace, too easy, too simple. You start to question if you should be the one doling it out. I’m here to tell you, you are qualified. If you’re worried about not being qualified, that likely affirms how qualified you are. Don’t sell your knowledge short! Which leads me to my next point…
Give yourself some credit. Take some time to take stock of all the accomplishments, education, training, research and experience you have accumulated. Imagine, for a second, that all that history belongs to someone else. We are often more judgmental of ourselves than we are of others. How do you feel about all that history? I’ll bet it’s impressive. I’ll bet you have done some hard work. I’ll bet you need to give yourself some credit.
It’s ok to learn on the job. Growth and development come from experience. If you’re not an expert, but you are a qualified amateur, jump in! It is a privilege to be able to try new things on the job, expand your skills and bring new perspective. Sometimes these opportunities cause anxiety and self-doubt. Which take us to…
Everyone screws up, failure is our best teacher. Imposter Syndrome likes to pop up when our fear of failure is at it’s highest. Working on your mindset around failure will help eliminate this. Practice doing things you are NOT good at, this might make you feel squirmy. Notice how you learn with mistakes. You are not infallible, no one is. Embrace the failure, it’s inevitable.
Stop story telling! Keep grounded in the facts. Don’t let your insecurities take you down a rabbit hole of self-flagellation. Ask yourself what you know to be true. Stay focused on knowledge you can confirm and don’t make assumptions or invent stories about other people’s reactions, feelings or judgments. Imposter Syndrome is waiting for your imagination to get carried away with self-doubt so it can set up shop in the forefront of your mind.
Sometimes we are just gifted, so toot your own horn. I find Imposter Syndrome is brought out most for me when something feels too easy. I can feel guilty or confused when comparing myself to others. DON’T COMPARE. We all have our talents. Mine have served me well and I shouldn’t belittle them because I didn’t bleed and sweat for them. Maybe you’ve always been great at computers. Maybe you excel at working with people, diplomacy comes naturally to you. Maybe you’re a math whiz! Gifts are gifts and we should cherish them. Life is hard, take the win.
These are just a few things to remember, but combatting Imposter Syndrome is a process. Surround yourself with people who are cheering you on and share with them when you are struggling. You deserve to feel confident!