How to Manage Imposter Syndrome?
- debbiejeremiah
- Feb 23
- 6 min read
In my last two articles I described the sense of imposter syndrome that is familiar to many of us. It’s the anxiety and self-doubt, comparing yourself negatively to others, constantly worrying what others will think of you, and never feeling like you’re quite enough. It can reveal itself in a constant striving, perfectionism and holding yourself (but not others) to impossibly high standards, in a distorted bid to prove yourself and avoid possible rejection. The hypervigilance needed to avoid being rejected means that any praise received is immediately discounted, disbelieved or brushed off as nothing. ‘Anyone could have done it’. But as we discovered last time, it typically impacts capable, rational, intelligent people who everyone else typically views as successes. It does that because it’s a mind trap – a story that you tell yourself. Once we’ve spotted mind traps, then we can start to understand them and deal with them. Inner beliefs can be changed over time.
3 Mind Hacks to Help Overcome Imposter Syndrome
Last time, I discussed that we can categorize the causes of imposter syndrome into 3 main groups: mindset (unhelpful thinking patterns), life experiences (which shaped our early beliefs about ourselves) and organizational life (which either accidentally or deliberately exacerbates imposter syndrome). Whilst the causes of imposter syndrome are many and varied and unique to each person, those that sit under the category of Mindset may be more malleable and easier to address. Here’s 3 relatively simple Mindset related mind hacks:
1. Not keeping up with ourselves
A key cause of imposter syndrome is that we simply haven’t kept up with ourselves. Qualifications have occurred, new roles have been undertaken and successes have been achieved, but we haven’t really noticed any of that, because we’ve either constantly adapted to them or we’ve not internalised, celebrated or FELT the milestones. Instead we may have dismissed our successes as nothing special and kept our focus on the next goal. We don’t FEEL any different to the awkward graduate starting out and therefore we don’t feel sufficiently advanced enough to warrant the successes. We simply don’t see ourselves as others do. We haven’t noticed who we’ve become.
Mind hack
Every morning as you get ready for the day, spend just 1-minute imagining your own inner cheering squad, cheering you on for the day and encouraging you with their whoops, claps and cheers. Your inner cheering squad can be made up of anyone you love and respect, pets, celebrities even. Together they form a strong supportive inner community that is willing you on each day. Every single time you achieve a small (or big!) win, celebrate in your imagination along with your inner cheering squad in whatever crazy ways feels right to you. Start by just aiming to feel a small spark of pride, success or accomplishment and then build it up as strong as you can, until you can really feel the sensations of success throughout your body. Doing this regularly will help your mind and body to keep up with the feeling of successes that other people see you achieve.
2. Judging others externally
We view others externally, seeing their successes and outcomes, but we experience ourselves internally, through our fears, worries and doubts. Because we don’t experience THEIR fears, worries & doubts, we automatically assume successful, competent people like them don’t have the same flaws or shortcomings that we have. We conclude therefore, that we are inadequate in comparison.
Mind hack
We tend to notice specific things around us that our brain has been tasked with searching for, such as a particular new car that we like. Once we set the intention or ‘goal’, our brain seeks these things out for us and brings them to our attention. We can use this goal seeking system to our advantage; in this case to look for data that indicates our successes or achievements, rather than using it for hyper-vigilance, to look for potential danger or rejection.
Over the course of the next 30-days, make a long list of all of your accomplishments, adding to it daily as new additions come to mind. Add achievements, successes (however minor) and challenges you have overcome. Add any positive feedback you receive and perhaps ask other people to contribute too. What do they think your accomplishments have been? By making it a daily habit you are forcing your brain to seek out examples of achievements in your life. You might want to imagine having a ‘mental radar dish’ that is searching for examples to add to your list. This starts to gradually shift your focus from looking for examples of failures, to looking for examples of achievement. Simply collect examples that come to mind and write it all down, just like a scientist recording data.
At the end of 30-days, take an objective look at your list. If that list were to be presented in a court of law, what would the jury conclude? Are those many examples representative of a failure or someone who has many positive traits and abilities? If you saw that list and it had someone else’s name at the top, what would you conclude about that person? Can you talk them through with someone, a respected friend or coach, to get their take on your list? Just as we did in the previous mind hack, as you look at the long list, can you start to feel a spark of pride inside? Can you deliberately celebrate your list in some fun and appropriate way? Also notice what happens in general, when you turn your attention to looking for positive traits, qualities and accomplishments, rather than looking to avoid failure or rejection?
3. Misplaced focus
One relatively common cause of imposter syndrome is inadvertently focusing our efforts on weaknesses, instead of strengths. When your role is a great fit for your strengths and you are working to your strengths each day, life becomes smoother, more aligned and more coherent. You are more able to show up as the real, authentic you. If you and your role aren't quite the right fit however, it may feel like you are constantly trying to adapt yourself to it, hoping that no-one spots that you are a square peg in a round hole. Hiding your true self, your real talent and trying to show yourself as someone else, may increase that sense of imposter syndrome.
Mind Hack
Undertake a strengths assessment, using say Gallup strengths finder and memorise your top 5 strengths. In 3 years time, if you could be in a role that was perfect for those top 5 strengths, what would the features of that role be? Constantly look for ways to navigate your role towards these strengths. This may not be a quick fix, but over time focusing on your strengths WILL steer you in a more aligned direction. At the end of each week, ask yourself the question: this week by how much did I work to my strengths? How can you increase that amount by just 1% the following week? What can you do more of or less of? Even if that 1% increase is accomplished outside work; by doing an on-line course or following up on something of interest etc, it will all navigate you in a more appropriate direction for you. Share your strengths with your manager, your direct reports and anyone else who will listen. Be open about them. When you can use your key strengths as a north star with which to help navigate your life and career, the sense of not belonging or being an imposter in your own life can reduce significantly. You can more fully and safely, show up as the real you.
Debbie Jeremiah is a regressionist and hypnotherapist, with a background in corporate leadership learning. She helps leaders to change their outer world, by changing the beliefs within their inner world. These are her own thoughts and opinions and as such, may contain inaccuracies and biases.
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