Have you ever felt as though you don’t deserve the life you lead or the position you hold? That you are not worthy of your job or not really up to it? You could be suffering from Imposter Syndrome; put simply, the feeling that you aren’t good enough for your job. For advice on how to break free, read on.
Living A Lie, Or Living The Dream?
Perhaps you feel overwhelmed by responsibility, unable to grasp how and when you became accountable for the enormity of your remit? You may feel under-qualified or incapable of fulfilling your role yet at the same time unable to ask for help for fear of being found out. Your life becomes – at least in your view – a series of lies, a charade of pretence. Deep down, you’re convinced you won’t cut it elsewhere and are forced to remain where you are as you would quickly be exposed as a fraud in any other company. You may become withdrawn, disenfranchised or unwilling to collaborate and engage with colleagues due to your intense paranoia. You have a tendency to devalue yourself by regularly comparing yourself with others, often unfairly or unrealistically and a habit of attributing personal success to excessive work input on your part.
What Is Imposter Syndrome?
If any of these thoughts sound familiar, you could be suffering from Imposter Syndrome; put simply, the feeling that you aren’t good enough for your job. Over time, this can snowball, completely eroding confidence levels, and yet, ironically, creating a situation that is difficult to escape precisely because you lack confidence to change. You may avoid situations that draw comparison with others, such as taking the lead on a project or making a presentation. As a consequence, you miss out on career advancing opportunities, not to mention the chance to interact and engage with others, the social contact upon which we thrive as human beings. You may begin to emulate others that you deem to be more successful than yourself and quickly lose your own identity.
Without any capacity for change or risk taking, you quickly become obsolete and irrelevant. There is a recognised need for fluidity in many careers and job roles, the need to learn, to grow and to develop. So, far from protecting your interests, containing yourself in the ‘safe zone’ of tried and tested tasks immediately puts you at risk as a less useful resource.
This is not even to mention the negative impact that Imposter Syndrome has on your mental health. If you are unhappy and lacking in confidence in your work, this is likely to spill out into your personal life, relationships and health. Self-doubt can quickly evolve into anxiety and over a sustained period, depression, creating deep seated doubt on your self-worth and capabilities that are hard to displace.
How To Overcome Imposter Syndrome
The good news is that it is possible to manage Imposter Syndrome and to overcome it completely. The starting point is getting to know yourself better, to rediscover your true self, to identify and appreciate your unique strengths, your values, your drivers and motivators. To learn to celebrate what makes you you and to enable you to confidently articulate your true self to other people, enabling you to set your own benchmarks and goals. FindMyWhy is a completely free personal purpose project, created by an expert team of psychologists to provide objective & constructive feedback and guide you through this process of self discovery. Starting with a simple, no-cost online questionnaire, FindMyWhy will produce bespoke reports tailored specifically to guide you through your career and life choices, offering you clear perspective and valuable personal insight. Beyond that, our extensive range of support materials – from videos to blogs, advice and tips from experts – are a completely free resource to enable you to make proactive change in your life. Visit our website to find out more, including the many testimonials from those who have already used FindMyWhy for guidance and insight to achieving goals in their personal and professional lives.