At one point in your life, you must have felt that you didn’t deserve something great that was given to you or feared that you might underperform in the position that you were given. Imposter syndrome is more common than you would have imagined. In fact, more than 70% of people all over the globe suffer from it.
Although it can be traced back to their personal experiences, it can also be dealt with if worked on diligently. If you compare yourself with your peers and always entertain the feelings that you don’t measure up can give birth to self-doubt, which can then result in negative outcomes for your business operations.
Overcoming the imposter syndrome won’t be an easy task. You will need to build confidence in yourself and your abilities. The sooner you are able to accept yourself for who you are, the easier it will be for you to drive yourself and your team toward your goals. To help you get there, here are the ways you could deal with imposter syndrome:
Recognize imposter feelings when they come up
Just like what most people say, “You cannot fix something that you don’t know.” Hence, you need to understand yourself and follow your thoughts so you can distinguish when you have those imposter feelings.
When you feel like you are undeserving of the success that is coming your way no matter how much hard work you put in — that’s imposter syndrome.
Rewire your brain and how you process things
You can only rewire your brain when you begin knowing how to define things. Similar to how a glass of water can be half full and half empty, the way you process things decides whether you will suffer from imposter syndrome or not.
However, you also need to make sure that you aren’t overly or toxically positive. Always keep yourself in touch with reality but remember not to be harsh in the judgment of your own abilities. Whenever worries creep in your head, remind yourself that you are only human and it’s only normal for you not to know everything.
Talk about your feelings
The thought of being an imposter seems to be incredibly alienating, but it’s actually widespread all over the globe. Instead of keeping bad views to yourself, you need to make sure to have an open conversation because other people might be feeling the same way.
Opening your ideas to other people will give you a whole new perspective other than your own negative thoughts. Obviously, spending a few moments opening up your mind to other people’s sentiments can also change your entire viewpoint on things.
Learn lessons from your failure
Frustrations are hard to avoid, especially if you don’t have any single idea of why you have failed. This is where imposter syndrome can knock really hard.
If you want to emerge victorious, you must go through many failures. Unlike most people who think that failure equals shame, there is actually a value in failure. Through the failures you come across in your life, you will get to know yourself better and learn from the mistakes you have committed.
Show yourself compassion
How do you treat yourself whenever you make a mistake or whenever you fail to achieve a certain goal? If you have the tendency to beat yourself up whenever you fail, you might need a little more self-compassion in your life.
According to research, having self-compassion has a lot of benefits, including lower levels of anxiety and depression. It sets a good stage for better relationships, health, and general well-being. This is because self-compassionate people recognize when they are suffering, which compels them to be kinder to themselves at those times by lowering their own levels of related anxiety.
Always remember to celebrate yourself for all the little achievements that you are getting. Negative self-talk can considerably increase worries and tension, so you need to make use of positive self-talk.
Seek Support
The truth is, we can’t know and do everything on our own. We all need help sometimes. Seeking support doesn’t make you less of a person. In fact, you’ll lose nothing here aside from your inflated ego. You can ask for support from your friends and family or even go to a therapist to seek professional help.
Keep score of your accomplishments
When you feel like an imposter, it’s pretty hard to realize how much of a part you had in your own victory. It may feel like your success only came by chance and through the labor of others, but you need to stand your ground and believe that it’s the fruit of your own efforts and planning.
Keeping a score of all your achievements would help in convincing yourself that you are genuinely blossoming. Consider all the techniques in which you have previously succeeded by darting into your track record. Sometimes, it only takes some prod to remind yourself that you are every bit outstanding as your annals of success.
