Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: With International Imposter Syndrome Awareness Day 13th April
Have you ever felt like a fraud? Like at any moment someone is going to find out who you really are and that your work is not as good as it seems. Sometimes people with Imposter Syndrome may get by for years without anyone realizing what they’re feeling, but at the end of the day, they feel like an imposter.

Kim Adele, Lisa Ventura and Nat Schooler launched “International Impostor Syndrome Awareness Day” on April 13th.

This blog post will discuss what International Imposter Syndrome Awareness day is, how it affects self esteem and confidence levels, and some ways to overcome it!

There is also the panel discussion below from International Imposter Syndrome Awareness Day, featuring: Kim Adele – Board/C-Suite Leadership Coach
Melissa Sassi – Chief Penguin, Entrepreneur & Student Experience at IBM
Dona Sarkar – Dev Manager – Power Platform & Fusion Devs Advocacy at Microsoft

Discussing Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

International Imposter Syndrome Awareness Day

Imposter Syndrome Awareness Day- First I want to explain what imposter syndrome is and how it’s related to one’s self-esteem. I also would like to find out ways of overcoming this syndrome.

Feeling like an imposter is not uncommon from what I have hear from the research.

“It is estimated that 70% of all employees experience some degree of imposter syndrome at work.

The good news is, knowing about the condition might help you overcome it!”

Kim-Adele Platts
Thinking thoughts about being an imposter can be debilitating if left unchecked for too long without treatment or support from others in the workplace environment (Petersen).

It has been found that people who experience imposter syndrome symptoms have a tendency towards perfectionism which may lead them into believing their work isn’t good enough because there will always someone better than themselves at any given task (Rosenberg) .

This leads to many sufferers feeling as though no matter where they go their skills aren’t going to get recognized by anyone else other than themselves so why bother trying?

What Are The Symptoms Of Imposter Syndrome?
What are the symptoms? What causes it? And how can you overcome this syndrome?

If left unchecked for too long without treating the root cause or getting support from others in your workplace environment it can be a real nuisance.

How Do I Know That I’m Experiencing Imposter Syndrome?
What should my next steps be to get help with overcoming these feelings of inadequacy/insecurity about myself?

As a person who is trying their best at everything they put themselves out there doing things but never feel like its good enough because someone else will always have something better than them no matter where they go (Petersen).

It has been found by many studies done on people suffering from imposter’s symptomatology tendencies towards perfection.

Characteristics
Some of the common signs of imposter syndrome include:

-Feeling like you’re not good enough for the position or task at hand.

-Believing that others are more qualified than yourself, even if they have less experience and skill sets in a particular area of expertise (Petersen).

This is often because people with imposter syndrome feel as though their accomplishments were just luck rather then hard work. Which leads to them feeling undeserving when it comes time do something new again; this can also lead into feelings about being inadequate/insecure on top off those already mentioned before(petersen) .

Often times these thoughts will go through ones head without any warning leading one down an emotional spiral where its difficult getting out from under all by themselves.(Petersen) It’s important to note these thoughts when they arise.

Identifyers
“It is estimated that 70% of people will experience at least one episode of this phenomenon in their lives.” Sakulku J, Alexander J. The imposter phenomenon. International Journal of Behavioral Science. 2011;6(1):73-92.

“Imposter syndrome is a term used to describe high-achieving individuals who are marked by an inability or unwillingness, despite evidence of their competence and intelligence: (a)to internalize success as being due in large part from personal qualities;(b)” “This leads them either consciously [or] unconsciously into situations where they can be exposed for not knowing what the do.” Sakulku J. The imposters’ handbook : how ordinary people succeed at doing extraordinary things . New York City ; London :: Springer Science+Business Media LLC., c2012.. Petersen’s article on this topic talks about some ways one might try overcoming these thoughts such that it doesn’t have so much power over oneself.(Petersen)

If you often find yourself feeling like you are a fraud or an imposter, it may be helpful to talk to a therapist or an experienced coach who can perhaps help.

Causes
For example, you might have come from a family that highly valued achievement or had parents who flip back and forth between offering praise and being critical.

Impostor Syndrome And Social Anxiety
While the symptoms of social anxiety can fuel feelings of imposter syndrome, this does not mean that everyone with imposter syndrome has social anxiety or vice versa.

The imposters’ handbook : how ordinary people succeed at doing extraordinary things . New York City ; London :: Springer Science+Business Media LLC., c2012.. petersen’s article on this topic talks about some ways one might try overcoming these thoughts such that it doesn’t have so much power over oneself. (petersen)

I Want To Explain What Is And Why Its Related With One’s Self Esteem. I’m Also Going Find Out If There Are Any Way Of Moving Past It?
We are all affected by our levels of self esteem and our confidence levels in relation to our inner imposter both are interesting parts of our selves.

Reflection to help with overcoming imposter syndrome

Reflect on what you have accomplished in the past week.

I think this is a great way of overcoming Imposter Syndrome because when one’s head with full of accomplishments it becomes harder to believe that they are not capable or skilled at something.

Imposter syndrome awareness day was certainly one of our huge accomplishments last week.

If you have a tendency to attribute your success to external sources – to getting lucky or a helping hand – start taking more ownership of the internal attributes you drew on.

If you sometimes feel undeserving of your success, write a list of all your accomplishments over the last 5 years. I would hazard a guess that even what you’ve overcome in the last year alone will help you to recognize that you didn’t ‘just get lucky.’

Whilst I haven’t personally suffered from “Imposter Syndrome” I have been personally studying the subject and working with people who have suffered from it for decades. Imposter syndrome awareness day was a massive milestone in raising awareness of the phenomenon.

I think considering that 70% of people suffer from it at some point during their lives launching international imposter syndrome awareness day is now a really important roadmark in the mental health awareness campaigning and mental health awareness also has now been something that since the pandemic we have been able to talk about without the stigmas of the past.

If you would like to get involved with the new up and coming book on Imposter Syndrome then please contact me for more details and also we would love more volunteers for International Imposter Syndrome Awareness Day!!!

You can also learn more about the International Imposter Syndrome Awareness day here.

And please feel to comment below, like and share on social media.

This was originally posted on https://natschooler.com/imposter-syndrome-awareness-day/

Interested in working together?