So, here you are: well on your way to achieving all the goals you’ve been working towards for so many years. Or maybe you’ve found yourself here completely by accident and are still working on building those dreams.
Depending on who you are, it could be the first few weeks of university, or the start of your first job, or a whole new job with a brand new set of responsibilities. In some cases your new role may fit you like your favourite pair of jeans and you’re imbued with the belief that you were born to rule the world. But many others may now be experiencing what is known as impostor syndrome.
Psychology Today defines impostor syndrome as “a psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments.” In other words, it’s that annoying voice in the back of your head telling you that you’re not actually qualified to do the job or take on the task you’ve been assigned to do; that your accomplishments thus far have been born out of luck; that any day now, someone’s going to realize you’re a fraud and fire or expel you.
Sound familiar?
You’re not alone. According to this review article published in the International Journal of Behavioral Science, 70% of people experience impostor syndrome or impostor phenomenon.
In fact, this article has been submitted late because the author, yours truly, experienced impostor syndrome when it came to writing about impostor syndrome and procrastinated the project profusely (I mean, am I really qualified to tell you anything about it?)!
While any number of factors could contribute to whether or not you might experience this psychological phenomenon—anxiety, certain personality traits, et cetera—there are a few tried and true methods to combat it.
Over the past year or so I’ve been promoted several times at work and found myself in a position of responsibility that I did not expect at this age. Suddenly, I’m in charge of hiring and training new writers, overseeing their work, and managing content for an up and coming media company. There is now a group of people who answer to me, who I am responsible for—how’d that happen?
How to cope
Now, I’m no psychologist or psychiatrist. As I mentioned earlier, I probably shouldn’t even be writing about this subject, seeing as I’m no expert; however, for months now, I’ve been employing a few methods to trick myself into believing that I deserve my job—and if you’re experiencing impostor syndrome, they might work for you too.
First of all, ask a lot of questions and make sure you know exactly what is expected of you. No matter what position you’re in or what classes you’re taking there’s usually going to be someone who got there first—either a supervisor at work or a student who took the same course load last semester. Find out everything they did right—and what they did wrong—and learn from it.
For anyone experiencing a lack of faith in their ability to perform in a given position, keeping an organized task list or a checklist of responsibilities can do wonders to ease the anxiety of an overwhelming workload. Keep tabs on what you need to do at the start of each day and chip away at that list. Personally, the satisfying feeling of crossing things off as they get done is what keeps me focused on the tasks at hand rather than any uncertainty I have in myself.
While the aforementioned trick is simple to implement, this next one is a little more complicated: acknowledge the fact that you are suffering from impostor syndrome and change the way you think about yourself. Yes, I know that sounds about as corny as a Disney song (not that we don’t all love Disney songs), but confronting your thoughts is the first step to changing how you act.
One method that has worked for me is to remind myself of past accomplishments, of my value to the company, and of everything I have contributed thus far. In university, I would constantly check my overthinking by reminding myself that everyone is more or less in the same boat and we’re all here to learn.
And if all else fails, call up your mom, your sister, your best friend, or your partner(s). Talk to the people closest to you and have them remind you why you deserve to be where you are today. Because everyone needs to hear about how great they are, sometimes!