IMPOSTER SYNDROME

Studies show that 75% of women struggle with imposter syndrome at some point during their careers.  So what exactly is Imposter Syndrome? It’s that feeling that maybe you're in over your head.  That nagging little voice that tells you that you don’t belong.  That someone made a mistake when they hired you.  That you are a fraud.  A constant worry that you are going to screw something up and be found out. 

​

Did you know that it's often the highest achievers that struggle with Imposter Syndrome the most?  Those that MOST deserve to be in the room where it happens are those who are most likely to be experiencing ongoing anxiety and worry about their job performance. 

​

According the research by Psychologist Lisa Orbe Austin, imposter syndrome often stems from these common thought errors or automatic negative thoughts (ANTS)

​

• Mindreading – you believe you can interpret what other people are thinking about you.

• Labeling – you attribute negative character traits to your yourself

• Fortunetelling- you predict negative outcomes based on no or faulty evidence

• Catastrophizing - you consider the worst case scenario when considering outcomes

• Unfair comparisons- you set unfair or unrealistic standards by which you judge yourself and compare yourself to others who you perceive are doing better than you and consistently rate yourself inferior to them.

• All or nothing – you engage in all or nothing thinking

• Discount the positive- you trivialize or diminish any positive feedback relative to your performance or character.

• Emotional reasoning- you use your feelings about a situation to make incorrect inferences

• Personalization- you believe that you are personally to blame for events beyond your control

• Overgeneralization – you draw overly broad conclusions based on stand-alone events

​

So how do you combat imposter syndrome? Start with what you know.  You don't have to believe every thought you have.  Thought errors exist which means they can be changed.

 

One proven technique is called the 3 “C”s. 

• Catch it- notice the thought

• Check it- is there a thought error present?

• Change it - what is actually true about this situation?

OR what else could be true?

​

Start to train your brain to see that there may be another way to look at the situation.  Open up to the possibility that you DO deserve the role you are in.  That you are adding more value than you realize.