Imposter syndrome is an experience of feeling not adequate as others perceive you to be. This kind of feeling makes you doubt your abilities and accomplishments, leaving you with the feeling that you will be seen as fake despite evident successes in your life. To better understand what imposter syndrome is, it might be helpful to look at these two examples:
✓ Let's say you've been nominated for an executive position in your organization as the new brand manager in Germany but at the recognition ceremony, you feel like an imposter because you don't feel your achievements and skills measure up enough to warrant that nomination and position.
✓ Or, you run your own business and you refused to promote yourself because you don't have the same expertise as others in your field, making you feel like a fraud.
If you want to identify if you have imposter syndrome, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do you attribute your successes to luck or outside factors?
2. Do you stress over the smallest mistakes or flaws in your work?
3. Are you sensitive to constructive criticism?
4. Do you feel you will unavoidably be seen as "FAKE"?
5. Do you try to play down your expertise even in areas you're so skilled than others?
Imposter syndrome can be more triggered when people go through some transitioning process or try new things. However, since imposter syndrome can happen to anyone and everyone, there are ways you can overcome it. Here are 5 ways you can adopt in overcoming this internal feeling:
1. Be open: Share your feelings with other people. Irrational thoughts tend to worsen when not talked about. Cultivate the habit of talking with your trusted circle. Don't keep it all in.
2. Take baby steps: Don't focus on being a perfectionist all at once, but rather you can do things step by step and reasonably well and even reward yourself for taking action.
3. Avoid comparison: Instead of comparing others to yourself, learn from others because any time you compare yourself to others, you will find some faults in yourself that can make you feel not good enough or not belonging.
4. Use social media moderately: If you don't use social media wisely, you might be pursuing a lifestyle that's not yours especially when you portray a lifestyle that doesn't match who you are or that is impossible to achieve, it will only make your feeling of being phony worse.
5. Don't let it hold you back: Yes, don't let the feeling of being an imposter hold you back from achieving your goals. Keep going and refuse to be stopped.
Finally, please note that if this feeling persists, it might be helpful to talk to a therapist because the negative thinking and consistent self-doubt that comes with imposter syndrome can affect many areas of your life if not handled/tackled early.
Dear reader, thank you for reading through❤️. Please, do well to like, comment and share.
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