In today’s fast-paced world, where people often show off their achievements on social media and success stories dominate headlines, many of us struggle silently with a deep-seated doubt called imposter syndrome.
It’s when despite doing well, you feel like you don’t deserve your accomplishments or that you’re just lucky. Psychologists first identified this in the 1970s. It affects people of all ages and jobs— from beginners to seasoned pros.
Impostor syndrome affects everyone, even celebrated figures like Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton. After ending a 945-day drought with a win at the British Grand Prix, Hamilton opened up about his struggles with self-doubt.
He admitted feeling like his best efforts weren’t good enough and doubted if success would ever come again.
His candidness struck a chord with fans, showing that even the most accomplished individuals can battle feelings of insecurity. This phenomenon isn’t limited to sports stars — it can creep into any career or stage of life.
Duncan Woods, a Human Performance Coach at soSerene, recalls a seminar where experienced professionals admitted to grappling with impostor syndrome.
It’s a common experience to question your abilities, especially when faced with new challenges.
According to Woods, our brains are wired to look for potential threats, including doubts about our capabilities. Impostor syndrome takes this further, making you feel unworthy of your achievements and fearful of being exposed as a fraud.
Whether you’re starting your career or leading a team, recognising these feelings is the first step toward overcoming them. Understanding that self-doubt is normal can help you build confidence and push past impostor syndrome’s grip on your success.
Combating impostor syndrome: Self-awareness is key
This can be done by just noticing the nature of your thoughts in important career moments. What is your inner dialogue saying? Over time, you might notice that you always experience imposter syndrome when a specific thing happens.
If that’s the case, prepare in advance for that situation so you can combat the effects. See if there is a pattern or shape to feelings of self-doubt that you can spot.
“Perhaps you downplay positive feedback or struggle to accept praise. Or maybe you attribute your success to luck or other external factors and feel like you don’t deserve what you’ve achieved.”
Woods recommends a two-step process to examine these thoughts:
Step 1: Reframe your thoughts, meaning assess whether these thoughts and feelings are based on a real threat or vulnerability or not. (A real threat could be: “I haven’t rehearsed my presentation.”)
Step 2: Choose a response to both real threats and perceived threats. In the example above, taking time to rehearse should banish any self-doubt. If you have rehearsed and find your thoughts are just inner chatter, reminding yourself of your knowledge and credentials can be effective.
Look for evidence
Building genuine confidence isn’t something that happens quickly. According to Woods, relying on the “fake it till you make it” strategy might seem like a good idea, but it can be tiring and make you feel like you’re being fake.
Worse still, it can actually stop you from developing real confidence.
Instead of pretending, look for real evidence to support your abilities. If admitting or discussing your self-doubt isn’t making it go away, try countering those feelings with facts. Impostor syndrome often thrives on unfounded thoughts, so concentrate on the truth to combat these feelings.
Focus on what you’ve achieved and the skills you possess to build genuine confidence over time.
If you often feel like you aren’t good enough, try these steps:
“Grab a pen and write down the evidence that you have that you can do this. List your preparation, your natural strengths, and your accomplishments.”
Review the work you’ve done to see if these feelings are based on fact.
If they aren’t, use these facts every time that voice in your brain pipes up to tell you you aren’t good enough.
Talk to someone you trust
Imposter syndrome can make you feel like you’re all alone, but you’re not. It’s actually really common, especially in workplaces. A report from Asana found that almost two-thirds (62%) of knowledge workers worldwide have felt imposter syndrome.
When you’re feeling this way, it helps to talk to someone you trust. Here are two reasons why:
Recognise and move on: Instead of keeping these feelings to yourself, sharing them with someone can help you acknowledge them. When you keep imposter syndrome feelings bottled up, they can seem bigger and harder to handle. Talking about them can be a step towards overcoming them.
Find common ground: You might discover that the person you confide in has also gone through imposter syndrome. It’s a common experience in the workplace. Knowing that someone else understands can make you feel less alone in what you’re going through.