Let's talk... Impostor Syndrome

Hi everyone, welcome to another blog post.

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Today I am sharing with you my take on the topic of Impostor Syndrome.

Impostor Syndrome is defined as the feeling of being inadequate, unworthy of something or completely doubting your skills and ability. If it’s a new term to you, let me explain when I first became familiar with impostor syndrome and you may, unfortunately, be able to relate.

In 2018 I was awarded a place on a world leading graduate programme, a two year intensive personal and professional, work based development programme. Over 1,000 people applied for this programme and little me was awarded a place on it. For a moment my self confidence rocketed, I was so proud of myself and felt as though all of my hard work until that point had paid off. It was an absolutely wonderful feeling.

On day one of the programme, the feeling of euphoria quickly faded and was replaced with this overwhelming feeling that I was out of my depth. Over and over in my head I was telling myself I wasn’t going to successfully complete the two year programme. Why did my mindset shift so rapidly you may wonder? I was convinced I was not capable of meeting the expectations placed upon us. Hearing my colleagues’ achievements, background and career highlights completely overwhelmed me. My own achievements had disappeared from my head and as far as I was concerned at that moment in time I had not achieved anything like what my colleagues had, therefore I was unworthy and out of my depth in this room of people. Comparison really is the thief of joy and also the thief of confidence and self esteem!

They say it’s a spiral of descending self belief and confidence and a total lack of self awareness. I would usually regard myself as a very self aware individual, however the feeling of being overwhelmed does strange things to your mind. All I needed at that moment in time was for someone to pull me out of that spiral, back into the present moment and remind me that I was worthy of being in that room.

Enough about me.

Unfortunately in life, you don’t always have someone there at every moment when a feeling like this appears, it’s therefore down to you to put the breaks on this spiral of self-destruction and remind yourself that you ARE worthy. You have to be your own cheerleader and your own greatest fan.

You must separate feelings from fact and rewrite the story you are telling yourself. How do you do this? I have included some really useful tips in my next blog all about limiting beliefs, which are essentially the trigger of impostor syndrome. It's also important to realise that impostor syndrome is an internal belief or feeling and that nobody on the outside has this same feeling about you. Nobody is thinking 'she's not worthy of being here' or 'she isn't good enough for this', the feeling is purely an internal story you are telling yourself.

I am here to tell you that you are worthy, capable, skilled and more than enough. If you've found yourself in a job or situation which feels out of your depth, let me tell you that the universe has your back and you are there for a reason. You are where you are because a force greater than you (god, the universe, or what ever it is that you believe guides you through life) has absolute faith that you can succeed at it.

Think back to a time where you have felt like an impostor. Did your doubts have any truth in the end or did you rise to the challenge and succeed? I am sure that 99% of the time the outcome was a positive and your feeling of unworthiness was proven completely wrong. Please remember this next time the feeling of self doubt or unworthiness appears. You are worthy, capable and more than enough.

Look out for my next blog post about limiting beliefs if this blog has been insightful and struck a cord with you. We go through some actionable steps to unpack the underlying cause of impostor syndrome.

Thanks as always for reading.

Love Alice

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