Do you ever feel inadequate even if you have great successes at work? Despite your professional accomplishments you continue to have that nagging feeling that you’re a fraud. This is called imposter syndrome. This can lead to extra stress and eventually burnout. There is hope for you if you experience imposter syndrome. You can beat it because it can be reversed.
What is imposter syndrome?
You may have trouble realizing and believing the success you have is because of your efforts. This is how imposter syndrome takes hold. You’re a hard worker with lots of talent, but you think that whatever you accomplish is attributed to something outside of you or luck.
You fear being found out. You fear that people will find out the truth about your successes that you think happened by chance. You think others will start to think you are a fraud or an imposter.
You start to wonder if you can make the ‘right’ decisions which then affects your ability to do your job. You question if you are able to overcome difficult situations that may come up. And this can become very stressful.
Here’s how to beat imposter syndrome
Push perfectionism to the curb!
Everyone makes mistakes!
But someone who is a perfectionist doesn’t see things that way. Instead, they feel intense pressure to succeed. Everything they do is measured through the eyes of perfectionism. Because they continually doubt everything they do, they are driven to work harder and do better. And if they make a mistake they’re extremely critical of themselves. If you really tried your best, you don’t have to feel ashamed.
It’s better to make mistakes and learn from them, than being anxious that everything is not quite perfect. You can learn to use constructive criticism from others to help you get better instead of fretting over one negative comment among 10 positive comments.
You will have times where you feel confident and times when you feel like a failure. Don’t give yourself unrealistic expectations. You don’t have to think everything has to be perfect. Doing your best and learning from your mistakes is a better way to normalize imposter syndrome.
Celebrate your wins
Do you tell your friends and family about all the mistakes you’ve made at work?
If you do, you should also tell them about all the good jobs you did and how you helped accomplish tasks that boosted your client’s business or your own business.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re doing a much worse job than you really are.
Celebrate your wins with rewards like a dinner out or buying some new clothes. Talking about your ‘wins’ will help keep your thoughts balanced.
Don’t overthink!
Sometimes you will mess up. That’s normal. It’s how you deal with it afterwards that can help you overcome imposter syndrome. Messing up at work is a part of life. If you’re working on something like an email sequence, and you don’t get the results you wanted, just start over and do it all again. Don’t give yourself time to let self-doubt take over.
Remind yourself of the things you did achieve and had success with.
Remind yourself that you’re amazing at what you do
Do whatever it takes to remind yourself that you are good at what you do. Remind yourself of all your accomplishments you did and keep track of any praise you’ve received.
Make a list of all the good testimonials or praise you received over the years. It helps to remind you of how you helped someone who was happy with your work.
This will build your confidence when you start to feel low. You have many talents and gifts and can offer great value to those you work for and to everybody around you. You don’t have to dwell on fear and doubt.
You are not alone when experiencing imposter syndrome. If you suffer from self-doubt, practice ways to overcome it. Tell yourself who you are and what you have done. Maybe you want to write a book, but you’re afraid of judgement, or afraid people will think you’re a fraud. You can change those thoughts by reminding yourself of your past accomplishments and showing yourself how qualified you are for writing your next book or getting the next job, whatever it may be.