By Lea Moukadam | Editor in Chief
There comes a time in a person’s life when they achieve a goal they’ve been working long and hard towards. Most of the time, they celebrate their accomplishment and reward themselves for the hard work they’ve done; however, that is not the case for everyone. For some, instead of acknowledging their efforts and achievements, they question whether they deserve the win in the first place. If you identify with the previous statement, you’ve probably faced imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is defined as an internal psychological experience of feeling like a fraud, despite all your accomplishments, skills, and success. Breaking down the term to its basics, the term “imposter” carries a heavy criminal undertone describing feelings of self-doubt along with the medical tinge of “syndrome”.
As a non-diagnosable mental illness, it encompasses the overwhelming feeling that a person doesn’t deserve the opportunities they get regardless of their accomplishments, education, and experiences; as if, they’re bound to be exposed as a fraud at any moment. So, that chair that you’ve built through your blood, sweat, and tears to have a seat at the table is bound to break any split second and you’ll be exposed. As if it’s just a matter of time. Exposed for what? That’s exactly where imposter syndrome comes into place – exposed for not being up to the standards of the position or opportunity that you already got.
There’s a certain upside to reaching this level of self-awareness and scrutiny for growth. However, imposter syndrome takes this healthy and self-reflective mindset and drowns you in self-doubt, self-consciousness, and self-criticism. Out of the many sources of imposter syndrome, it stems from the fear of being seen through the same lens that you see yourself. It is based on internal beliefs. Although these internal beliefs can stem from negative thoughts, they can also stem from societal discrimination and hence become internalized discrimination. So, through imposter syndrome, you can internalize the criticism and turn it into self-criticism, but you can’t internalize your success.
People consistently doubt their own capabilities, ability to live up to societal standards, or their own expectations which seem unachievable. In the case where they’re able to achieve these outcomes and high standards that they’ve set for themselves, they attribute it to luck, chance, or other external factors. They feel like constant frauds that are bound to be found out, and when faced with positive feedback for their work, these words are seen as flattery or proof of flawed perspectives.
This issue goes way past just momentary anxiety. Instead, it stems from one’s misperception of their own abilities, skills, and talents. People dealing with imposter syndrome are most likely to self-reject when a new opportunity comes along or to not take professional risks even if they meet the requirements.
Under the layers of what makes us human, we’re just afraid that people will see us the way that we see ourselves. So, with imposter syndrome, if you fear being exposed as not being good enough, then it’s based on the thoughts that you have about yourself and not who you actually are.
Somehow, it’s easier to assume that everyone is doing better than us or would’ve done a better job under the same circumstances. However, nobody with your exact thoughts and capabilities has ever existed before and will probably ever exist again. Your individuality, talents, and ideas have the ability to ripple throughout the world around you, and your thoughts, fears, and doubts shouldn’t stand in the way of that.
To get past imposter syndrome, or at least attempt to, remember why you initially wanted the achievement you got by focusing on your goals and learning to trust your judgment. As a person that’s still struggling with everything described above, I learned to be comfortable with the ugliest part of myself and darkest thoughts consisting of those internalized beliefs I have about myself.
By doubting yourself, you allow people to doubt you and doubt whether you belong or not, which wouldn’t be the case otherwise. Sit with your feelings, acknowledge them, allow them to unravel, and let go of the beliefs that are holding you back. Remember that just like you can doubt yourself, question your belonging and your worth, you can doubt and question the rationality of these misperceptions.