Treating Imposter Syndrome
Have you ever felt like you’re the odd one out? You look around at everyone else and think that you’re not competent and are soon going to be called out as a fraud. I’ll raise my hand and say I’ve felt that way before.
If you raised your hand too, you’re in company with many that experience these feelings known as imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is the idea that you’re not as competent as those around you in your field and that you’ve only succeeded due to luck.
For many of us who have experienced imposter syndrome, it’s often attributed to being rooted in personality traits, such as being anxious or a perfectionist, and in behavioral causes, such as the family environment in which you grew up in. Other external environmental factors play a role in imposter syndrome as well, such as industry stereotypes for a particular line of work or job.
The question you might be asking if you’re currently, or feel like you will some point in the future, experiencing imposter syndrome is:
How do we treat imposter syndrome?
Fortunately, there are a variety of methods and resources to help you treat imposter syndrome.
Mindset Framing
Reframing our thoughts around our supposed imposter syndrome is a great starting point. Much of the anxiety and stress that comes from imposter syndrome is a result of engaging with the idea itself.
Putting your thoughts and situation into perspective can profoundly reduce the effects of imposter syndrome. By critically assessing whether your thoughts are helping or hindering your experience, you’ll be able to gain a better perspective around your true, natural abilities and how you do deserve to fit into the grander picture.
Letting Go of Perfection
Imposter syndrome and its negative effects are largely attributed to the idea that we have to be perfect in order to feel competent and that we fit in. However, put plain and simple - perfection is impossible.
Learning to accept our strengths and weaknesses as individuals will lead you towards greater self-esteem and self-worth. There’s a reason why we work as teams in order to bring out the best from everyone while ensuring that one teammate’s weakness is another’s strength.
At the end of the day, it’s about striving to be as perfect as possible with your work in spite of knowing that things will truly never be perfect. That’s what makes us special and human after all.
Talking to Friends and Mentors
More often than not, others around you have gone through and felt exactly what you’re experiencing during some point in their career. I’d suggest seeking out reassuring friends and mentors to hear you out and serve as a sounding board to help you reframe your mindset.
You shouldn’t have to feel isolated and alone as your work your way through your perceived imposter syndrome. Starting the conversation with friends and mentors can help you tackle misconceptions and underlying causes for the way you’re feeling and make you feel included in the group!
It’s important to remember that failure doesn’t make you a fraud - it makes you human. Most successful individuals that you’ve looked up to all have failed, lost, or been wrong a time or two during the lifetimes.
Take for example the following individuals:
Sheryl Sandberg:
Facebook COO and philanthropist Sheryl Sandberg has admitted in her book, Lean In, that she didn’t feel worthy of being at Harvard as a member of the Phi Betta Kappa honor society and that she was hiding her inner fraud time and time again.
To this very day, Sandberg has shared publicly that she still feels like a fraud and that she shouldn’t be where she is today.
Maya Angelou:
A civil rights activist, author, poet, and Nobel Laureate, Maya Angelou revealed that she felt like a fraud, saying that, “I’ve written 11 books, but each time I think ‘uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’”
I think it’s safe to say that all we found out from Maya is that we love the way she’s left her indelible imprint on society and our hearts.
Tom Hanks:
Academy-award winner Tom Hanks admitted that he has suffered himself from imposter syndrome following his role playing a middle-aged American businessman in the 2016 film A Hologram for the King.
Hanks revealed in an interview that he personally related to the sense of self-doubt of the character he played and that he felt like people would eventually figure him out, taking everything away from him.
Michelle Obama:
Former, and likely most of the world’s favorite, first lady, Michelle Obama, disclosed in a talk she gave to an all-girls school in North London in December 2018 that she still feels a bit of imposter syndrome as people all around the world view her as a symbol of hope, power, and grace.
Well, I would personally say that we all are still listening intently to everything that Michelle Obama has to say and couldn’t be any more thankful for the beacon of light she shines on the world each and every single day with her presence.
I hope that these individuals can serve as an example to you that you’re not alone in feeling the effects of imposter syndrome. I truly believe that there isn’t one single successful individual whom you admire that hasn’t gone through a bout of feeling like an imposter and on the verge of being found out.
If you take these figures’ examples and the aforementioned strategies of mindset framing, letting go of perfection, and talking to friends and mentors, I’m sure that you’ll have the foundational elements to be on your way to treating and overcoming your perceived imposter syndrome.
Oh, and before I forget - know that I, your friends, and your family all believe in your abilities. All that you need to do now is believe in yourself and your abilities too to finally treat and overcome your sense of feeling of imposter syndrome!
"Trust yourself—you know more than you think you do." — Benjamin Spock
