This Is the Most Powerful Antidote to the Imposter Syndrome
You can agree with the inner critic, you can ignore it, or you can try something better.
Imposter syndrome has been part of my professional life for as long as I can remember. It was a constant nudge to be better, learn more, never stop growing — all because I felt inadequate. And I know I am not the only one experiencing it.
You’d be surprised to know how many people experience it every day. Famous people and high-achievers are no exception.
There are several reasons why we experience it, united by the same underlying issue — looking for external validation:
- comparing yourself with the others
- insecurity about skills and experiences
- being new to a certain environment
- striving for perfection
- being afraid to look stupid
- having unreasonably high expectations
- putting to much pressure on yourself
To some degree, experiencing it is normal, especially in a new environment. It shows that you have expectations towards yourself and your goal and are conscious of your abilities. It can even be useful as it can help to indicate areas for improvement and growth.
It doesn’t get okay though when it reaches the irrational feeling of not belonging. It starts with undermining confidence and affects productivity, stress levels, and a sense of self-worth.
Root of evil
Most of imposter syndrome definitions agree that it is an irrational feeling. The problem is that it is all in our heads. So to fix it we have to work with our own mindset.
Every time I try something new or even get an exciting idea, a know-it-all inner voice tells me that I’m no good for that. The voice of the inner critic is the voice of self-doubt and all the negative reasoning why I shouldn’t do it.
Sometimes this voice might have a good reason. After all, it is part of our survival instinct integrated deeply at our core. It needs to prevent our failure and save us from getting hurt, even if it is figurative. But it’s not always right.
So there are several ways you can manage this situation.
You can listen to this voice and agree with it — you might in fact be not qualified for your task or idea.
You can ignore it and push through — you might drown it out for a while but there is a good chance it will come back at the first opportunity.
Or you can reason with it.
Now, I’ve been always adherent of the second way — put some extra pressure on myself and push through. That didn’t work well. The voice of the inner critic kept coming back and extra pressure resulted in anxiety.
I couldn’t get rid of the feeling, so I’ve tried managing it, which meant finding a way to explain things to myself and try to understand them to muffle that voice down.
Everybody has started somewhere
We are not born with all the knowledge and experience that makes us who we are today. We gather it over the course of years — not days, not weeks, not months.
Just like babies learn to walk and talk, we learn new skills and how to adapt to the changing environment our whole life. But soon enough we forget that we are no longer are kids and expect ourselves to be better, stronger, faster by default.
It doesn’t work like this. Any kind of development, both personal and professional, is a work in progress. It’s a never-ending process where everyone is on a different level.
So there it is: the learning process. Reminding myself that I am too still learning and developing worked wonders.
When you are learning, you can get to the level that you want. When you are learning, you are allowed to make mistakes, try and fail, and try again. When you are learning, you are accepting that you are not perfect.
There will always be people who know more than you. Don’t compare yourself to them — learn from them instead.
It is an ongoing process. It’s not like you’ve taken a two-week course and done, perfect, can move on, no.
Our knowledge and experiences, both personal and professional, shift the way we see the world, our ideas, likes, and dislikes.
And it’s okay to try something new, even if you going to suck at it at first. Because through trying, failing, and being bad at something we learn how to master it and become good.
There is no shame in learning
Admitting, even to yourself, that you are not perfect and still working on yourself is more difficult than it may seem. But it releases the pressure and high expectations and gives you more space for trying.
You still can be good at something and be learning — one doesn't exclude the others. It doesn’t downplay your achievements, but it shows that you are open to the possibility of exploring, changing, and experimenting.
So the next time you feel inadequate because you don’t know something or because you see more experienced professionals out there, tell your inner critic to shut up and wait — you are learning.
