Impostor syndrome makes us believe that we don’t deserve our achievements
If you recently got a promotion, got an awesome new job (that’s a step above your previous one), or got assigned to be a leader to a high level project and you’re now asking yourself why or what you did to deserve this. You are among those who suffer from impostor syndrome.
What exactly is impostor syndrome you may ask? It’s the feeling that you’re a fraud and that you will be found out to not be as qualified for the position as your boss believes that you do. This happens to the best of us; you believe that the reason that you are in the position that you are in is because of luck and not your skills or experience. But i’m here to tell you that you were promoted or got that amazing job because you are the one who made that happen!
Impostor syndrome makes us believe that we don’t deserve our achievements but the good news is that there are ways to keep going when you feel like a fraud. Mike San Roman of Fast Company has 8 effective steps to help combat impostor syndrome:
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Recognize that it exists.
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When you receive positive feedback, embrace it with objectivity and internalize it. By denying it, you are hurting that person’s judgement.
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Don’t attribute your successes to luck.
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Don’t talk about your abilities or successes with words like “merely,” “only,” “simply,” etc.
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Keep a journal. Writing your successes and failures down gives you a retrospective insight about them, and re-reading them makes you remember equally both of them.
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Recognize that the perfect performer doesn’t exist, and that problems will pop up eventually. Take them as little fires under you that make you move forward.
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Be proud of being humble.
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Remember that it’s okay to seek help from others, and that even the best do it.
Do you agree that these 8 steps can help with impostor syndrome? Let us know in the comments below!
