The impostor syndrome is the sense that our accomplishments are in some way underserved, no matter how consistent the evidence is to the contrary.

In parenting, we pretend that we know what's best for our children without really knowing. Even if our guidance makes sense, it's just guessing. Realizing this, we at first judge, and later forgive our own parents for it.

With others, we often presume that we know what other people think ...

There are several reasons why the impostor syndrome seems to have become an epidemic.

• We have given the phenomenon a name.
• Our preoccupation with it is the result of profound social change. Many people work in the service economy, where we create impressions rather than tan...

• The Anxious Impostor has negative views of themselves that are unjustified.
• The Hustling Impostor engages in a deliberate form of self-presentation to achieve ends that may otherwise not be possible. "Fake it till you make it."
• The...

Impostorism is not altogether a bad thing. Successful people should have both enough self-awareness and enough self-doubt to question themselves.

The strange thing is that the more expert you become in a field, the stronger your feeling of impostorism.