Kicking Impostor Syndrome to the Curb

I’m willing to bet that everyone has experienced impostor syndrome, even if you don’t realize it. I was recently a guest on a podcast called Mentality Champion where I talked about how impostor syndrome can affect you in your personal or professional life. I wanted to touch on it a little more in this blog because I think it deserves to have some light shed on it. You can listen to the full episode here!

What is Impostor Syndrome?

Impostor Syndrome is feeling like a fraud and doubting your abilities. When you doubt yourself, you don’t take any action and end up stagnating your growth. It can show up everywhere, so I’ll give two examples.

Personal Life – Let’s say you’re trying to reach your idea of ideal weight. You go to the gym and see all these people with big muscles and cute workout clothes, doing exercises you didn’t even know existed. You start to think to yourself, “I’ll never look like that. They’re better than me. I’m not experienced enough. It’ll take too long to reach my goals.” Impostor syndrome has a hold on you. You have just as much of a right to be at the gym and trying to reach those #gains, but you’re getting in your head and comparing yourself to others. 

Professional Life – I’ll share a personal story for this one. I was starting to build my website, create my branding, and structure my services. I had no clue what I was doing, but I was doing my thing. I started to look at other people’s websites for inspiration and found one that I adored. I mean, perfect branding, website structure, services packages, everything I wanted my website to be. I spiraled into self-doubt. I thought to myself, “My website will never look like that. I should just give up. I wasted all this time creating something I don’t like.” Impostor syndrome was starting to creep in. I was comparing myself to someone who had been working on her business for years when I was just starting.

Is Impostor Syndrome Linked to Anxiety?

The short answer is no, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Impostor syndrome isn’t technically proven to be a form of anxiety, but it can be linked to it. Think about it: Constantly worrying, comparing yourself to others, thinking that you aren’t good enough… Those are all symptoms of anxiety. You get in your head and start to spiral into self-doubt. 

You can’t compare yourself to people who are further ahead of where you are. For the gym example, if you’ve never set foot in a gym and you’re comparing yourself to someone who has been going for years, how is that fair to yourself? The same goes for the professional example I shared. That woman had been in business for three years, and I was just starting to build my website. It’s not a fair comparison. Everyone is on their own timeline.

In the same sense, you can’t compare others’ strengths to your weaknesses. I figured out that web design isn’t my thing and that’s okay. I have other strengths that are other people’s weaknesses. 

How Do You Overcome Impostor Syndrome?

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVITY

Find a community that radiates positivity. It doesn’t have to be the people closest to you. Sometimes, those people aren’t the best supporters when it comes to reaching your goals. You might have to venture outside your inner circle to find people on the same page as you, maybe even trying to reach similar goals. I recommend looking for local groups you can join or joining Facebook groups. There are people out there who will support your dreams! You just have to go out and find them!

STEP AWAY FOR A SHORT TIME, JUST MAKE SURE TO COME BACK 🙂

This is what I did when I was going through an identity crisis with my website. As I was scrolling through her website, I realized what I was doing, shut my computer, and took the rest of the night off. I didn’t think about my business or plan what I was going to do tomorrow. I just enjoyed a night off. However, the key is to come back. Don’t take so long of a break that you give up or talk yourself out of it. A small break can be beneficial, as long as you make a conscious effort to come back and continue to work at it.

CELEBRATE YOUR WINS, BIG AND SMALL

Every win deserves to be celebrated, no matter how big or small. I like to set both kinds of goals and have a reward that correlates with the size of the goal. You can pick goals and rewards that are personal to you, but don’t be afraid to treat yo’ self when you reach them! Every win deserves to be celebrated.

Impostor syndrome isn’t something you can avoid. It shows up at the darndest times and sometimes when you least expect it. Learn to recognize it for what it is (B.S.) and continue doing your thing. You’re here to make a difference in the world. Don’t let impostor syndrome take that away from you.

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