Imposter syndrome has an upside

By

How about thinking of IMPOSTER SYNDROME as something positive? I particularly love when I read something that challenges the status quo of what we’ve always seen as something negative.

The article brings a new perspective about Impostor Syndrome that particularly for me was something completely new. Specially because I certainly feel impostor syndrome a lot. And maybe that could be even one of the reasons why I became a coach…lol…

The article defends that because of such a feeling we listen more, we ask better questions, we’re more likely to recognize and praise.

Leaders are recognized as more interpersonally effective because they adopt a more other-focused orientation (that positively affects) competence-related outcomes like performance.

Nevertheless a little impostor syndrome won’t just make you more “likable”; it can also make you more likely to work hard to feel you deserve such estimation.

But what delights me the most in this article, as well as in the anxiety article I posted a few days ago, are two facts:

1) the stories we tell ourselves (I already mentioned that this is the topic that I love the most in neuroscience): how can we simply transform our stories/beliefs into something that motivates us to believe in us and feel more self-confident to achieve our goals, our dreams.

2) The difference between medicine and poison is the dose: as well as the issue of anxiety, imposter syndrome can have all these positive effects if it is at a balanced level. If it starts to immobilize us and leave opportunities and dreams behind, then it becomes poison.

You don’t belong here.

I recently read an article on imposter syndrome that I identified with so much I wanted to give an overview to you. A few facts to lay the groundwork:

-Imposter syndrome is a feeling of incompetence even when not supported by external evidence.

-7 out of 10 people deal with this disconnect

-They tend to appear to be high achievers

-This feeling does tend to be more common in women and other minorities, but many men also struggle with it.

As I got further into this topic, I felt like I was reading a story literally written about me. In fact, I wrote a post not too long ago about humility and attributing my flying ability on the Thunderbirds to just a lot of practice. I’ve also written and spoken about preparation being my secret weapon for success.

If you view yourself as an imposter, you give credit to external factors rather than your inherent ability to succeed. You tend to over-prepare, and eventually you feel that the only way you can succeed is to constantly put in that amount of time and work. And when you do in fact, succeed again you give credit to that preparation instead of your own skills and abilities.

Lack of transparency in what it takes to get to a high level can create that feeling among others in a community. It can also be caused by a few traumatic situations where you were belittled after asking a question or revealing you didn’t know something.

How can we combat it?
-Pull back the curtain on the struggles inherent in being professionally successful
-Make conversations about this a norm in highly demanding fields
-Show empathy and compassion toward those who are learning
-Create an environment of trust where people aren’t afraid to fail

I struggled with this my entire career and one of the motivations for sharing my story was to show people the highs and the lows of reaching success. We tend to put people we admire on a pedestal. When we do that we create a gap between what they have achieved and what we see as capable for ourselves. By shedding light on the reality of the obstacles we all face on the path to success I hope to expand others’ views of what is possible for them. ✨❤️

#impostersyndrome #believe #selfesteem #empowerment #keynotespeaker