You Can’t Control Everything

Having compassion for yourself is really no different from having it for others. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes and it’s OK to feel stressed or sad. Pain and suffering are part of our shared human experience; they are just a reaction to what’s going on in our life.

Imposters fear being found out or not being good enough so strongly that they do not question their fear. If what you believe is true, then you’re right to be scared: being found out, failing, the humiliation that comes with what you imagine – these are terrifying. 

Family environment, family dynamics, and the way our parents raised us combine with our personality and our experience of the world to shape our belief system and give us a sense of who we are as a person. This means that what you learned as a child influences how you see and experience t...

• Imposter syndrome was first described by two clinical psychologists in 1978. 
• They coined the term ‘imposter phenomenon’, a condition in which people believe they are not worthy of success and have a persistent belief in their lack o...

To really believe that how you feel is no different from the way other people feel you have to start talking more openly about what’s going on.

This is the only way for you to be sure that when others look confident and capable they may not feel that way all the time.

Confident people do feel this discomfort and do experience some of the same fears. But they come to a different conclusion and this allows them to override their feelings.

Instead of interpreting their discomfort as meaning that they are imposters, they see it as a ...

You need to see that this is not your voice, but the voice of your fears.

The better you get at spotting the imposter voice in action, the more successfully the strategies will work

Imposter syndrome normally occurs when there is a tension between two views: the standards you set yourself and how you assess yourself as doing.

The high standards you set yourself are a large part of the problem, as is the negative internal voice you use to motivate ...

• Imposter syndrome can be triggered by any achievement or approval-related task or as a result of feeling insecure about your knowledge or skills, particularly when you work in a competitive atmosphere and when responsibilities increase.
• It tends to be more in...

You decided a long time ago that you were a fraud and for years you’ve been building an argument in support of this in your head, ignoring any information that doesn’t fit and operating a strong bias against yourself. This unwavering belief is one of the biggest reasons you’re un...

You may feel like an imposter, but that doesn’t mean you are one. Your thoughts and feelings are useful, but they only form part of the picture, especially when it comes to anything imposter syndrome-related.

When you hear the voice, remind yourself that the imposter's ...

• Overworking. The feeling that you are a fraud inspires greater effort and conscientiousness because you imagine that everyone else is more capable and intelligent than you.
• Avoidance. When you aspire to such high standards and have an overwhelming ...

These are the internal rules that people with imposter syndrome generally follow:

1. Perfectionists set excessively high standards for themselves and believe they should deliver always a perfect performance.
2. Natural Geniuses strive to master any n...