5 Steps To Defeat Your Imposter Syndrome

“It’s not what you are that holds you back. it’s what you think you are not.”

— Denis Waitley

The imposter syndrome is a term coined for high-achieving people struggling with living in their true ability. What this means is some people experience serious episodes of prolonged self-doubt. That doubt leaves you feeling like a fraud even though you're exceptional at what you do.

These emotions invalidate your success making you unaccepting of your achievements and attributing them to external factors. Which is rarely the case.

Cut that little voice out and start focusing on what's real. The feeling will fade as you start stepping into your truth.

A reminder of what's real:

• You are what you say and believe you are ( a writer, artist, entrepreneur, etc)

• Your accomplishments would not occur without you

• Your self-doubt stems from something deeper

The Root of Your Self-Doubt

The imposter syndrome can stem from your childhood. Meaning that how you were raised and your surroundings can be what is promoting the imposter feeling within you.

Family members that put extreme pressure on you to be successful above all else or the people you surround yourself with are constantly telling you that your dreams are too far out of reach can be found at the root.

Being in tune with yourself can ease the feelings of imposter syndrome. Practicing mindfulness and improving self-awareness will put you at an advantage when feelings of self-doubt arise. When you understand why you feel like this, you can properly assess how to deal with these feelings and not allow them to affect you.

Shadow work is a brilliant technique to help you discover what lies underneath your surface. It is a beneficial tool in improving your self-awareness.

Click here to learn more about shadow work and how to get to the root of your inner problems.

Different Types of Imposters

The Superperson ~

The superperson struggles with moderation and balance. They don't believe they are deserving of success because they haven't worked hard enough for it. They push themselves to constantly be the best, and neglect rest in the process.

This is when external validation becomes prominent in their lives. They become obsessed with feedback of any kind to prove their worth. It becomes a cycle of constantly pushing their limits and receiving negative or positive feedback.

Pro Tip: The superperson is neglecting the basic needs of their body. Rest. It is vital that you take breaks and rest after prolonged periods of work. Your mind may be like a sponge, but a sponge can only take so much water. Also, move away from allowing external validation to run your mind.

That is not your only motivation.

Focus on internal validation and acceptance. Building confidence in yourself and your work can help with that.

Develop the skills to be more confident right here.

The Expert ~

The expert is a combination of the natural genius and superperson. They fear being outed as unknowledgeable, so this type pushes themselves to learn advanced skills to appear experienced.

They are never satisfied with their level of work and feel immense pressure to be better than the best. There is nothing wrong with striving for more, but taking it slow is better for your mental health than trying to speed race to the top.

Pro Tip: You don't need to learn every skill. It's important to learn the skills that are needed. Learning excessive skills distracts you from what you need to know.

The Soloist ~

This soloist forces themselves to work alone. They don't ask for help to avoid looking inexperienced. Putting everything on your plate puts strain on your abilities. It hinders the amount of effort you can put forth on projects leading to sloppy work.

Pro Tip: You can strive for independence and still seek help. There is nothing wrong with being the teacher and student. You don't have to take on everything by yourself. Utilize mentors and peers to help with things you may not understand yet.

Then, you can be that for others and a system of support is born!

The Perfectionist ~

This type deals with perfectionism. They set high-pressure goals for themselves and tend to be controlling. Perfectionists want things done their way to ensure it comes out "perfect" according to their standards. This leaves them wanting to do everything on their own.

This is troubling because the goals push them to overexert themselves leaving them burnt out more frequently and for longer periods. They put a lot of pressure on themselves to be more than they can actually produce.

Pro Tip: Perfectionists rarely experience the satisfaction of success because they focus on what they should've done better. Start celebrating your accomplishments. Fall in love with completing your projects and know that you did your best.

You don't need to be turning out perfect content every time because it is just unrealistic. You are constantly changing, so what is perfect for you now probably will not be years from now.

Strive for progress, not perfection

The Natural Genius ~

The natural genius is fixated on perfection and learning fast. They assume things either come easy to them or they are just not meant to do them. With that being said they still work hard. They just work hard at what they know they are good at and tend to avoid what they think they are not.

Natural geniuses usually evolve from high-achieving students. They have been constantly validated as einsteins and providing satisfactory work has always come easy to them. They fear failure and either take it extremely hard or don't try new things at all.

This is because they want to live up to what they have been told their entire lives.

Pro Tip: Cut yourself a break and remember that you're only human. The constant need to want to meet other people's expectations is what’s hindering your success.

This type, especially, needs to take feedback at face value. Use it as constructive criticism but focus mostly on how you feel about your work. Don't be extremely critical of yourself and know that you are a work in progress.

Try taking small steps and venture out into different things you are interested in. It will give you chance to try something new and practice patience with yourself.

You may notice that you resonate with multiple or even all imposter types.

Defeat your Imposter Syndrome

Step 1: Separate feelings from fact

Distinguish the difference between your feelings getting in the way of your accomplishments and what you've accomplished.

Step 2: Develop a healthy response to failures and mistakes

Come to terms with your failures and mistakes as being your biggest lessons. In your field, this is what is going to teach you what steps to take next and what not to repeat.

Step 3: Take gradual steps

Go at your own pace. Don't compare your success to anyone else's. Take baby steps if you have to, but don't give up on yourself. Each step you take no matter how small is propelling you closer towards your goals.

Step 4: Document your progress

Start writing down your accomplishments, projects you finished, projects you want to finish. Keep track of everything and continue to add to your portfolio/resume. Celebrate some of your achievements and be proud of how far you've come.

Step 5: Visualize success

Put your mind in a place of abundance and acceptance. Start focusing on what you want out of life and less on your self-doubt.

“You are so much more than you give yourself credit for.”

Summary

The important thing to take from this is to believe in yourself. Trust in your ability and greatness. When you accept yourself, no one can take that from you. That is why honing your powers is essential to your success. These powers such as self-love and self-awareness can help you achieve things you probably thought were impossible. Many successful people have experienced self-doubt at some point in their careers. It is how you handle it that makes all the difference.

Many times the real imposters are the ones who’ve never experienced this syndrome.