“When I was younger, I just did it. I just acted. It was just there. So now, when I receive recognition for my acting, I feel incredibly uncomfortable. I tend to turn in on myself. I feel like an impostor. It was just something I did.”—Emma Watson.
The above quote by the famous actress Emma Watson gives a picture-perfect hint of what it means to live with imposter syndrome.
Have you ever made an achievement or won something, and underneath all the excitement and noise around you, a part of you feels like you don’t deserve your success?
Yes, that is the concept behind the word, ‘imposter syndrome.’ To better understand how to overcome Imposter Syndrome, let’s review a few facts.
Bravata, D.M in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Vol.35, No. 4, 2020 says that about 82% of people experience feelings of imposter syndrome and struggle with the sense that they do not deserve what they’ve earned or achieved and that they are a fraud.
These feelings have shown to share strong connections to mental health challenges like Anxiety and Depression.
According to Audrey Ervin (Ph.D., clinical psychologist, and academic director), “there’s an ongoing fear that high-achieving individuals usually experience that they’re going to be ‘found out’ or unmasked as being incompetent or unable; to replicate past successes.”
So what exactly is imposter syndrome, and how do you overcome imposter syndrome?
What Is Impostor Syndrome?
In simple words, imposter syndrome is a term used to describe the experience of feeling like a fake—as though you might be found out as a fraud and that you aren’t what you propose to be.
Imposter syndrome is usually triggered by the overwhelming emotion that comes with success. Sometimes, a monumental achievement or victory’s appreciation, fame, or glamour can be so overwhelming that you feel like a fraud.
Typical scenarios include feeling like you do not deserve an achievement or did not work hard enough to be where you are. Often, imposter syndrome is also a common challenge for people who struggle with esteem issues.
Although most health specialists do not believe that imposter syndrome is a medical condition, it can become a limiting factor when not attended to.
Since imposter syndrome isn’t classified as a medical condition, it is normal for people to wonder if imposter syndrome can be cured or overcome.
The fact remains that Imposter syndrome cannot precisely be cured or routed since it is not a disease or medical condition. However, it can be managed to a point where it no longer becomes a limitation or an obstacle to your progress and growth as a person.
10 Steps To Overcome Imposter Syndrome
If you are searching for tips on how to overcome imposter syndrome, then this article is for you! This section will highlight all you need to learn how to overcome imposter syndrome.
Below are ten ways to overcome imposter syndrome in simple steps:
1. Learn The Facts And Details
Learning how to fight imposter syndrome can be a chore when you do not know enough. A famous adage says that knowledge is power, especially when it falls into an intentional mind.
The first step you should take in dealing with imposter syndrome is knowing all you can about it. Understanding and learning as much as possible about it put you in a better position to handle it.
When you know the basics, it will be easier to avoid triggers and recognize other factors that influence imposter syndrome and how it affects you as a person.
You can begin by exposing yourself to as much information as possible. Then, if you find anything that raises your curiosity, do not hesitate to check it out.
Imposter syndrome books or articles that expose the nitty-gritty of imposter syndrome and its relationship to mental health challenges can be beneficial.
And if you don’t seem satisfied with what you have, YouTube and Google can be other channels that can provide you with all the information you need.
Better still, you can speak to or even interview medical experts or people who have faced imposter syndrome in the past. Then, when you are done learning and researching, you will find it easier to navigate and find your way around the challenge.
Learning how to overcome imposter syndrome is a very challenging and tricky subject. Hence, it is best to be armed with as much information as possible.
2. Share How You Feel
As a famous saying goes, “sharing is caring!” So, yes, sharing, in a way, is a form of self-care, especially when you are dealing with a subject as critical as imposter syndrome.
One of the ways you can learn how to overcome imposter syndrome is to share or talk about how you feel. Imposter syndrome comes with a truckload of emotional distress and weight.
It is easier to tackle imposter syndrome when you have a confidant that you can talk to and express yourself freely without any form of fear. In addition, sharing your emotions has a therapeutic effect.
Talking about how you feel to a person or group of people you trust makes it easy for you to roll off emotional strains, seek help and receive support.
It becomes a highly effective method of dealing with imposter syndrome when those people are people you trust and love and support you. Unfortunately, this step is usually underrated or overlooked because of its simplicity.
The next time you seem to be breaking under the weight of imposter syndrome, I suggest you look for a good friend and pour out your heart.
Sometimes, locking all those feelings away allows them to build up like uncleaned waste until they become toxic enough to destroy your mental health.
Like it or not, try talking about those feelings for a change. You might be surprised at how much better you will feel afterward. After all, a problem shared is a problem half-solved.
3. Celebrate Your Success No Matter How Little They Are
Most folks with imposter syndrome make the common mistake of failing to build their confidence. Earlier, I pointed out that imposter syndrome is related to low self-esteem.
A person with healthier esteem and a sense of value will find it much easier to tackle imposter syndrome. One of the ways you can learn how to overcome imposter syndrome and boost your confidence is to cultivate the habit of celebrating your wins consciously.
I understand the challenge of celebrating success, especially when it seems so little. However, success is a success no matter how small it is, and learning to bask in the glow of an achievement is a huge step in raising your confidence.
Celebrating your success is you being grateful to yourself for all the hard work you have put in to get to this point. Whenever the feeling of doubt creeps in, remind yourself of the sleepless nights and your sacrifices in the past.
Learn to look at yourself and say, “I deserve this!” Because you do! In not celebrating ourselves, we cheat ourselves of the satisfaction and pride of victory.
From now on, become intentional about cultivating the habit of celebrating your success. Did you achieve all your goals for the week? Celebrate yourself with some extra time for self-care and a good bottle of wine.
Another good way to achieve this is to become more conscious of your past success. Of course, you can begin by reflecting on your efforts, but sometimes having solid external reminders can be helpful and significant.
For instance, if you receive positive feedback, you can print it and keep it somewhere to see it quickly or save it as a screenshot on your phone.
That way, you get to have something that will serve as a constant reminder of how competent and unique you are.
By the time you keep at it consistently, it will be easier to ignore the voices in your head that make you feel like you do not deserve your victory.
So as long as you put into the required efforts, you deserve to be celebrated every time you succeed!
4. Let Go Of Perfectionism
Being a perfectionist can be an excellent thing because it prevents you from being an average person or mediocre. However, keeping up with your standards can be a bit of a struggle.
Asking you to let go of perfectionism isn’t the same as asking you to lower the bar. Instead, it is a suggestion to adjust your standards for success to make it easier for you to visualize and meet your goals and targets.
It is usually advisable that you learn to pay more attention to your progress than aiming toward perfection. Sometimes you have to learn to be patient enough to watch yourself grow steadily into what you want.
If you are going to learn how to overcome imposter syndrome, you must also learn to avoid seeing yourself as a failure when you do not meet your standards.
Doing so will most likely damage your esteem and self-confidence and make it difficult to appreciate the process of growth.
Instead, cultivate the mindset of seeing your failures as opportunities —to grow and constantly evolve to a better, higher, and more improved version of yourself.
You will also find that ridding yourself of certain expectations can be rewarding. The mistake we make most times is expecting too much from ourselves.
When we break down under the weight of such expectations, the sadness that comes with such creeps us and blinds us from seeing the truth—we are humans and do not know anything.
Breaking free from either self-imposed or community-imposed expectations might be what you need to become a more competent professional.
5. Be Kind To Yourself
A common struggle for people who experience imposter syndrome is the habit of being cruel to themselves.
The expectations they have of themselves force them to punish themselves with an overwhelming workload to evade the feelings of incompetence that they experience.
Often, we get carried away by the demands, responsibilities, and expectations that we lose and fail to keep track of our own needs.
It could reflect bad habits like refusing to rest because of a looming deadline or taking up more responsibilities than you can handle.
If you are learning how to overcome imposter syndrome, you will need to develop an intentional habit of being kind to yourself. You can start by placing yourself in other people’s shoes.
What would you do for someone who is sick? Or what reassuring words would you say to someone who is mentally tired?
When you find yourself in a similar situation, try to apply the same degree of kindness that you would to yourself when you are in need.
Choosing to withhold compassion from yourself would be unfair. As much as you want to achieve so much and be the best version of yourself, you also need to remind yourself that you are human and deserve to be loved and taken care of.
Understanding how to tackle imposter syndrome is a process that requires you also to be compassionate to yourself. You can begin with little acts like more time for self-care or taking up a new hobby or something you enjoy doing!
You will feel much better and have better control when you learn to pay attention to your needs.
6. Accept Your Failures
Your failures do not define you or your worth/value. Unfortunately, this is one fact that most folks who have not learned how to manage imposter syndrome effectively experience difficulty accepting.
Your failures are part of the numerous things you will need to accept in the growth process. How you manage failure as a person speaks a lot about how you see yourself.
As you learn how to overcome imposter syndrome and live in spite of it, you will realize that it becomes common for thoughts of imposter syndrome to show up when you fail.
However, your failure should not make you feel like a fraud. Accepting failure is a good step towards achieving growth and positive change. Failure is a part of reality and life, and it should not affect the way you see or perceive yourself.
You must learn and realize that as we grow into new experiences and roles, failure is something that we will experience often.
It is, therefore, vital that you learn to keep a positive and open mind that can help you recognize progress if or when you experience failure in the future.
Accepting your failure doesn’t mean rejecting your mistakes. Instead, it means consciously acknowledging them and then working towards taking responsibility for them.
Your failure does not define you in any way, but if you must learn how to overcome imposter syndrome, you must make efforts to rise above them!
7. Be Open About Your Failures
Another good way to properly learn how to overcome imposter syndrome is by sharing and talking about your failures.
Being open enough to discuss your experience when you fail is a suitable method of working on the negative feelings and maintaining a positive attitude in life.
It can also help you discover and attend to bitter truths that might be the reasons for your failure. The truth is that accepting your losses is just one phase. Being courageous enough to discuss them is another.
We sometimes get weighed down by feelings of imposter syndrome because we shut down all the negative emotions that come with the experience of failure and refuse to let them out.
Sharing your failures allows you to release those thoughts and feelings and change your perspective to see failure as a tool that can be used to improve and grow.
We can see the circumstances surrounding our failure from different perspectives in talking to someone else. It allows us to scrutinize and re-evaluate our challenges and how we can live above them.
Sometimes, it can be difficult for us to acknowledge and address the hard truths. Still, it becomes easier with the help and support of like-minded individuals who are enthusiastic about growth and improvement.
For this tip, I suggest that you join a community of people engaged in discussing and evaluating their failures towards self-improvement and development.
Or you can even create a community and invite friends, colleagues, or even family members who might be interested in working on the failure and imposter syndrome they experience.
8. Make Valuable Corrections To Your Mindset
Many folks fail to truly realize how vital the state of their mind is in the fight against imposter syndrome.
Your mind, when appropriately utilized, can be a very resourceful tool in your journey towards a better version of yourself, and that includes facing mental challenges like imposter syndrome.
Most times, to beat imposter syndrome, what we need isn’t motivational talks. Instead, we need to make adjustments to our minds.
Imposter syndrome is a challenge in your mind; to learn how to overcome imposter syndrome, you must know how to use your mind as a weapon against it.
Let’s do a quick survey. What do you do when you experience imposter syndrome? Do you give in to those negative thoughts or avoid them?
If the answers you provide involve believing those thoughts or trying to escape them, then it shows that you need to work on your mind.
That is because imposter syndrome feeds on the existing negativity in your mind. It reminds you of your failures and gives you a thousand reasons why you don’t deserve that new job, promotion, or award.
Therefore the best way to counter its negative attacks is to feed your mind with positivity. You can start with books. Focus on reading books that challenge you and place you on the path toward personal growth.
Filter what you listen to, too. If those songs or audios contain negativity, flush them out. Also, be intentional to watch what you say about yourself.
The words you say about yourself create a consciousness that can affect how you see yourself.
Learn to speak positively about yourself. You can go online and search for affirmations for imposter syndrome or use the claims in the article “I Am” Affirmations For Daily Motivation. You can get them here.
Become intentional about being a more positive person, and defeating imposter syndrome will no longer be a chore.
9. Face Your Challenges And Enjoy The Thrill Of Victory
Trust me when I say; this particular tip works like magic! Nothing beats the feelings of imposter syndrome like the sweet joy of victory and accomplishments.
Winning has a way of shutting down those voices that remind us of our inadequacies and regrets. It helps you reinstate your self-confidence and serves as an excellent reminder of how incredible you are, especially when you keep trophies or emblems of each victory.
It becomes much easier to address imposter syndrome when you are fully assured of your capacities and what you can do. Do you want to master how to overcome imposter syndrome? Then this is a tip that you must apply!
I challenge you to embrace your challenges with a new mentality. Do not see them as obstacles but as stepping stones towards achieving your dreams.
Approach your challenges with enthusiasm and refuse to be held down to the wall by your problems, and strategically work towards defeating them.
By the time you maintain a consistent track record of victory over a while, imposter syndrome will have to take a long break.
10. Avoid Comparison
A toxic habit that you need to avoid as much as possible is comparison. Comparing yourself is one of the many things that can and will trigger imposter syndrome.
Comparison paints an unrealistic picture that others are doing better than you are and blinds you from seeing the progress you are making.
As a result, you become prone to seeing only your faults and mistakes, and it becomes difficult for you to appreciate it when you do the right thing.
Comparison is a cancer of the soul, and it will turn you into an unhappy person if you let it. So rather than comparing, why not appreciate yourself for what you do that others aren’t?
You can start by making a list of things you can do or are good at. Doing that will make you more conscious of your capabilities because imposter syndrome springs from self-doubt and low confidence.
If you learn to pay attention to your positive qualities consciously, it will be more difficult for you to compare yourself with others.
Conclusion
Dealing with imposter syndrome isn’t a day’s job. It takes weeks, even months, to leave its tentacles successfully. First, you must note that it is possible to live without consistently battling imposter syndrome.
You can rest assured that it is possible to exist peacefully without those toxic emotions and feelings. I have had ordeals with imposter syndrome, and I clearly understand what living with it feels like.
To join an existing community of people willing to help you with your struggle against imposter syndrome, check out the Facebook Community- Little Steps, Big Miles here.
I will end this article with an encouraging quote.
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”— Winston S. Churchill.
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