Feeling Like a Fraud? You’re Not Alone.
In my work helping people nurture their true voice and build their personal brand, I see many of us (including myself) struggling with impostor syndrome from time to time.
Are you feeling like a fraud? Do you think you just got lucky? Are you aware of all the things that you DON’T know as opposed of all the things you DO know? Are you afraid of being exposed as a phony? These are all common signs of impostor syndrome, the belief that you’re an inadequate and incompetent failure.
You Are Not Alone
There are a lot of highly accomplished people who have opened up about their impostor experience. Marketing guru Seth Godin admitted he has experienced impostor syndrome. And there are others:
Maya Angelou: “I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’ ”
Jodie Foster: “When I won the Oscar, I thought it was a fluke. I thought everybody would find out, and they’d take it back. They’d come to my house, knocking on the door, ‘Excuse me, we meant to give that to someone else. That was going to Meryl Streep.’ ”
Albert Einstein: “The exaggerated esteem in which my lifework is held makes me very ill at ease. I feel compelled to think of myself as an involuntary swindler.”
Mike Myers: “I still believe that at any time the no-talent police will come and arrest me.”
Sheryl Sandberg: “There are still days when I wake up feeling like a fraud, not sure I should be where I am.”
True Voice To The Rescue
As we rely on our online presences in the digital world, it can be challenging to beat the impostor syndrome. Here is where personal branding or #truevoice, as I like to call it, comes in to help you out.
Our fear to feel like an impostor often stems from our need to be perfect. Perfectionism can be a dead-end as — as we all know — nobody is perfect, including ourselves.
Think about all the shots professional basketball players miss. Think about the fact that most startups fail. Think about Wall Street money traders; the best of them lose money on trades. Think about how many rewrites and edits it takes to end up with a bestselling novel — and even bestselling books are not necessarily perfect. Not knowing an answer doesn’t make you a fake. Falling down once in a while doesn’t mean you are a failure. It just means you are human. Like the rest of us humans. So get rid of that perfectionist monster feeling nesting inside your head and embrace your perfectly imperfect humaneness.
Fear of failure is part of the impostor experience. What if I fail? What if people find out I’m a fraud? Think about it this way: If you don’t share your talents and your true voice with the world, you deprive us of your contributions. Move forward regardless of your doubts because there is only one YOU. Your true voice is inimitable; and that’s special. We need your talents and your voice.
The impostor monster also loves when you undermine your achievements and discount praise. We easily brush aside the impact we have on other people’s lives. We use adverbs like “just” and “only” when we describe our work. Try and develop a healthy relationship with your accomplishments. Keep a file of the nice things people say about you; save any complimentary emails you receive in a dedicated praise folder. Whenever you feel like a failure, read through all the positive messages you have received over time and say to yourself (aloud): “I am my own superhero.”
Your true voice is your ally when it comes to beating impostor syndrome. Putting up a facade or fake persona will add to you feeling like a fraud. When you focus on your purpose, you can tell your real story and allow yourself to be vulnerable. And that includes all of you.
Your true voice will also help you find balance between feeling like a failure and extreme egomania. If you keep your mind focused on what you are here to do and how you can genuinely make a contribution to the world, your impostor monster will quiet down and you can embrace your beautiful self.
I help social entrepreneurs and organizations in the social mission sector inspire audiences, create movements, and ignite change.
Connect with me on Communications Rebel.
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