Overcoming Impostor Syndrome

Welcome to Insight Timer,

I'm Linda Hall.

Do you find it difficult to recognize,

Accept and enjoy your achievements?

Do you suffer from self-doubt and feel your best is never quite good enough,

No matter how successful others see you?

Do you dread that sooner or later you will be exposed as a fraud?

Do you find it difficult to speak up in meetings for fear of getting things wrong?

Do you feel you don't belong?

Imposter syndrome is a common psychological condition where people doubt their abilities and accomplishments.

Typically affecting high achievers,

It causes anxiety and the constant fear of being found out,

Rejected and isolated.

Some of the most talented and successful people in public life suffer from imposter syndrome,

So if you think you have it,

You're in good company.

But this undermining condition may be preventing you from fulfilling your true potential at work and causing you undue stress.

The good news is that once you've recognized you have imposter syndrome,

You've made the first and the most important step towards overcoming it.

The next step is to recognize that the feelings of doubt and the negative beliefs you hold about yourself are not the same thing as the truth.

Beliefs,

By their very nature,

Are distortions,

Generalizations and omissions of the truth.

Examine the beliefs and look at where they came from.

Challenge them.

Are they really true?

Perhaps they're not even yours.

Step to one side to see the bigger picture.

Notice how thinking that way makes you feel and the damage it's doing to your well-being.

Ask yourself,

Do I really want to continue doing that to myself?

Then make a commitment to stop.

Noticing with an attitude of mindfulness is key.

When you become aware of thoughts and feelings and notice them from a neutral position without judging or attaching to them,

You are using a part of your brain that's able to observe.

This gives you the power of choice.

Rather than allow yourself to be consumed by the negative thoughts and feelings,

You can choose to let the thoughts go.

Breathe out the stress they've caused and reassure yourself instead.

Bear in mind that your body and mind form one interconnected whole.

So where you go in your head,

Your body goes too.

Each time you allow yourself to become immersed in stressful thoughts and feelings,

You are creating what is essentially a trance state.

Learning to notice your thoughts and feelings as they occur affords you some distance from them,

Which in turn enables you to break the trance state and return to the here and now.

We are all naturally hardwired to be creatures of habit.

Imposter syndrome in many ways is a habit that's built up and got stronger over time.

At a physiological level,

Habits are bundles of neural pathways that direct our thoughts and actions at an unconscious level.

Due to the brain's capacity to grow an almost infinite number of new neural pathways,

Old,

Unhelpful habits can be broken and new,

More useful ones established.

In order to fully address imposter syndrome though,

It's useful to look at what caused it to become established in the first place.

With this in mind,

Talking to a professional counselor can help identify and address key life experiences that have contributed to your developing the condition.

Imposter syndrome may be linked to underlying self-esteem issues,

Fear of success,

Fear of failure and self-sabotage.

Learning to appreciate,

Value and support yourself is an essential part of overcoming the syndrome.

Many people who experience imposter syndrome are perfectionists and set themselves unrealistically high goals which can never be achieved.

Instead of recognizing and owning their achievements,

They focus on their mistakes and failures,

Which creates a vicious circle of dissatisfaction and self-doubt.

Practicing self-care will help you manage perfectionist patterns.

Make sure you take regular work breaks,

Get enough exercise and eat healthy,

Regular meals.

Relaxation and meditation techniques will help you manage your stress levels.

Learn to set realistic,

Doable goals and reframe how you see mistakes and failure as opportunities for learning and growth.

The negative things you habitually say to yourself don't just affect how you feel and behave in the present,

But shape the outcome of your future because they influence the choices you make.

Negative self-talk and feelings generated by imposter syndrome can all too easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It may be that you're not reaching your true potential in your work for fear of failure or through just not recognizing your own worth.

Start to use positive statements to replace the negative ones.

The trick is to choose words you feel comfortable with and say them as if you believe them.

In time and with practice,

You will.

Write them down so you become familiar with them.

When someone appreciates your work,

Allow yourself to really take the benefit of their appreciation in.

Let it nourish you.

Notice and celebrate your small achievements as well as the bigger ones.

How you envision something through the images you make in your mind shapes your individual take on reality just as much as the things that you say.

Positive visualization can be a powerful way to rewire your brain into seeing yourself,

Your abilities and your future in a more positive light.

Olympic athletes use positive visualization as an essential part of their training programs to build self-confidence and help them to excel.

Put some regular time aside to visualize yourself being as successful as you would really love to be.

See yourself enjoying the experience.

Notice how good it feels to be that way.

To recap,

In order to address imposter syndrome,

You need to acknowledge and understand your feelings.

Recognize that just because you're having the thoughts and feelings doesn't make them true.

Seek professional support if necessary to address root causes.

Practice self-care.

Set realistic goals.

Reframe how you see mistakes and failure.

Develop a healthy relationship with yourself,

Including working on your inner critic.

Use positive statements.

Focus on the positives rather than the negatives.

And visualize yourself being successful.

I hope you've enjoyed this talk.

Remember that we are all a work in progress.

There is no such thing as failure.

Only learning and continued growth.

Go well.