It’s all in your head. Really that’s all there is to the imposter syndrome.
That tiny voice telling you “You’re not good enough.”
The Doubting Thomas that lives in your head making you second guess yourself.
Do you feel imposter syndrome often? It’s particularly insidious in the way that it sneaks up on you and kills your self-esteem.
Imposter syndrome nags at your soul trying its darnedest to convince you, “You’re a fraud and you fool nobody but yourself.”
Whenever you make progress in life it comes back to knock you down saying, “You don’t belong here.”
I had these same exact thoughts that I wasn’t good enough or I don’t belong here. In fact, I experienced imposter syndrome throughout the Praxis boot camp.
It seemed like everyone else in my class had better technical skills, better work ethic, better knowledge of sales, better accomplished. On and on this nagging voice went.
Imposter syndrome caused me to not speak up and add my two cents during class discussions because I feared I would say something dumb or uninsightful.
I felt I wasn’t smart enough compared to my peers.
So I closed myself off.
Let me tell you this is the last thing you want to do when you’re learning. You need to build social capital among your classmates because eventually you’ll need help and support from them.
In the words of my wise advisor, T.K. Coleman, “Stop trying to prove the voice of resistance wrong!”
He’s right, those nagging voices are not worthy of your time or energy. These defeatist arguments get you nowhere and might even stunt your intellectual growth.
Even if those voices are right, you’re still attempting to be what you’re trying to accomplish and that’s a good thing. Despite my setbacks and giving in to those voices, I still worked hard to be a Praxian and I learned what it meant to be your own worst enemy.
So how did I get over the imposter syndrome? Learn the lingo, learn to navigate your new environment, learn the skills, learn to apply it.
Be adaptable.
You’re not the only one in your group that has imposter syndrome and I can guarantee someone else feels the same. It was the case within my class, at least a handful of us had doubts about our abilities.
Do you see how imposter syndrome questions your worthiness? Honestly, I haven’t a clue if I’m worthy of my lofty goals and dreams.
Why do I say that?
For starters, worthiness is so arbitrary and subjective. Everyone has a different view and every culture defines it in so many ways. There will always be a group of naysayers who say you’re not good enough.
Here’s the antidote to those Doubting Thomases in your head and in real life.
You have the right to try new things, learn new skills, improve yourself. That alone creates new opportunities and open doors for you.
T.K. Coleman addressed this common fear amongst my class.
“You are in the right place at the right time.”