How To Deal With Imposter Syndrome

For most people, nothing seems to satisfy them. These over-achievers always doubt their abilities. They would hike Mount Kilimanjaro or get a Nobel Prize yet they can’t stop feeling like a fraud. Even achieving a ridiculously high mark — they’ll refuse to take the credit for their hard work. These individuals would prefer to share the spotlight with others or hide behind the crowd. What’s missing here?

This psychological phenomenon reflects a belief that you’re an incapable and incompetent failure despite evidence that indicates the opposite. I’m not referring to fortunate individuals who were “at the right place at the right time” — I’m talking about skilled and quite successful people here.

Do you feel like an imposter 95% of the time? Hang ten, we have the checklist for you:

Perfectionist 

Perfectionists are hardly satisfied with their quality of work, themselves and basically everything. They have a hard time delegating work and trusting teammates to accomplish anything without their supervision.  A simple error could ruin a perfectionist’s whole day or year. Are you a perfectionist?

Superman

Superman would say YES to everything to avoid looking incompetent. These individuals feel guilty if they’re doing anything  — probably weekends make them feel anxious too. Superman would rather lose an eye than saying “I’m not coping”. They could be covering up for their insecurities and identifying themselves through their work.

Expert

They take serious offence if they’re corrected or asked about something they barely know. Their worth comes from them “knowing things”. This is terrible as it is impossible to know everything. Trying to be “Google” of every subject is must be tiring.

Real talk bro, you’ll suck at something and you’ll fail — that’s just life. Practising gratitude will make you kinder to yourself.

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Salute

Anele@Manbox