Imposter syndrome mainly affects people who do not feel legitimate in their work. They believe that they do not deserve the results they obtain or the admiration that others give them in the professional environment. Business Cool gives you today all the secrets to overcome this state of mind.
Impostor Syndrome: Definition
Impostor syndrome, also called self-made syndrome, was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes. Although it was first associated primarily with women, it was later found that men could also suffer from it.
How does imposter syndrome manifest? It results in a kind of unhealthy doubt in people who succeed in their careers, regardless of the recognition they obtain. They will be more likely to link this success to chance or luck and not to their skills. Individuals who experience imposter syndrome therefore consider themselves impostors and live with the fear of being unmasked by their employers.
Imposter syndrome is not a clearly defined illness. It is above all a mixture of emotions which is accompanied by a feeling of lack of legitimacy, a lack of self-confidence or the feeling of not being up to a given task. This is why it is very difficult to know if you really suffer from it or not.
Do you suffer from imposter syndrome?
How do you know if you have imposter syndrome? You are probably concerned if you tend to:
- Feel bad about compliments
- Minimizing the praise your colleagues give you and feeling unworthy of it
- Constantly doubting your potential, even if you obtain good results
- Systematically attribute your success to an external element or to luck
- Demonstrate excessive investment
- Have a panic fear of the attention of your colleagues or your superior
- Comparing yourself very often to your peers on social networks and feeling bad because of it
Imposter syndrome: an obstacle to your professional career
Imposter syndrome can have a detrimental effect on your personal and professional development. “Often, people censor themselves and limit themselves in their careers out of fear”explains Elisa Sanchez to Business Insider. By convincing yourself that you are not legitimate and that you are not good enough at your job, you will live in constant fear. You will therefore not be awarded a raise and you will remain at the same hierarchical level. You will not exploit your maximum potential. This will affect your self-esteem and can even lead to terrible consequences (burnoutloss of self-confidence, depression, etc.).
Imposter syndrome will make you feel like you’re trapped in a vicious cycle full of fear and doubt. You will then start to implement strategies to avoid finding yourself in anxiety-provoking situations. You will live in permanent stress which will turn into deep discomfort in the long term. More concretely, when you are required to carry out a task, you will experience strong anxiety. The fear of failure will make you lose your means and you will follow the following two defense strategies:
- Procrastinate excessively and catch up in record time. This technique allows the person to protect themselves by delaying the confrontation with reality. However, this involves additional stress which can turn into a psychological blockage when carrying out the task in question.
- Excessive preparation to avoid the risk of failure as much as possible. However, you will be under permanent pressure, which risks impacting your mental health.
How to deal with imposter syndrome?
In order to overcome imposter syndrome, it is important to take a deep look at the question of your identity by asking yourself: “Who am I really?” » and thus conduct honest inner introspection. It is when you realize that you have strengths and assets within you that your opinion can evolve and your situation improve.
Thanks to this step, you will see that you can be worthy of all your successes and all of your performances. “Analyze what you feel, what you like, your values and your priorities”underlines Elisa Sanchezpsychologist specializing in occupational health and human resources, to Business Insider.
It is also important toavoid comparing yourself with other colleagues. You will be even more likely to doubt your skills. Don’t rely on social networks either, since people don’t necessarily display the reality on their LinkedIn profile. The psychologist also highlights the importance of differentiating between self-esteem and ego: “Self-esteem is loving yourself, taking care of yourself and improving yourself. It should not be equated with comparison with others: that is ego. You must compare yourself to yourself and strive to be better than your old self. »
Another way which appears obvious, but which remains very difficult to apply is to break the silence and share your feelings with others. This will allow you to free yourself from a weight that weighs on you and above all put into words what you really feel. You should know that major iconic figures, such as Maya Angelou, Michelle Obama and Tom Hanks, have shared their experience with imposter syndrome.
Finally, we also recommend that you ask others what they think of you and look at you through their eyes. So don’t hesitate to ask two or three people around you to share with you your strengths and areas for improvement. The psychologist explains: “It’s a way of realizing that others see us differently. And neither can be entirely true. »
Just because you’ve convinced yourself that you’re doing a terrible job doesn’t mean that’s really the case; your colleagues will be able to judge you better than you. They will be more impartial. It is also essential to distinguish between objective facts and your feelings, which are subjective. It is when you succeed in making this distinction that you will begin to nuance your negative thoughts and give free rein to your potential.
