You’re sitting in a big meeting at work. The stakes couldn’t be higher. You’ve prepped for this moment for months; checking and re-checking your work to make sure you are giving the BEST presentation of your career. But, suddenly you start to look around the room at all the high-powered executives and think, “Wait a minute. What am I doing here? They’re going to laugh at me. I’m just not good enough to do this job. I really don’t belong here”
Have you ever felt like this? Like you’re a fraud and people are eventually going to find out just how incompetent you are. This is Imposter Syndrome. And if you’re like most of us, you know exactly what I’m talking about. In fact, a recent review of 62 studies on Imposter Syndrome shows that anywhere from 9 to 82 percent of people report having thoughts like this at one time or another.
Imposter Syndrome(Perceived Fraudulence) is defined as “feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite your education, experience, and accomplishments.” Early research was primarily focused on accomplished women. However, it became clear that imposter syndrome can affect anyone in any profession, from college students to C-level executives.
These feelings are the result of an internal conflict between your own perception of yourself and the way other people perceive you. When they praise you for your talents and skills, you simply write it off to good luck or good timing. You think you simply were in the right place at the right time and don’t believe in your own talents. You believe others will eventually wake up and realize the same thing. This pushes you to work harder and only strive for perfection. This vicious cycle keeps going and going and eventually causes anxiety, depression, guilt, and a complete questioning of your life’s path and purpose.
Oftentimes this also happens because you are not on your true path mission in this lifetime. Therefore you feel out of place and unfulfilled.
We’ve all questioned ourselves from time to time, but here at the end of another difficult year, I’d like to offer you some guidance on how to move forward into 2022 knowing that you’re more than capable and deserving of all your accomplishments.
- Lean on your network. As I mentioned before, studies show that most people have felt this way from time to time. Reach out to your best friend or co-worker, someone you can trust, and get their take on Imposter Syndrome. This helps both of you know you are not alone in your inner turmoil.
- Practice self love! When that voice of doubt or critic starts to whisper in your ear, reminding you of all the little mistakes you made, respond back with love! Stop that negative inner talk with some self-praise!
- Play on your strengths. Take a few minutes to make a list of the things you are really good at. Writing them down can help you see your talents and gifts.
This is the PERFECT time of year to take stock of where you are and where you choose to be. Don’t go into the new year feeling like an imposter. Stand in your brilliance and OWN it.
