Do you ever feel like someone in your industry is going to find out that you’re not qualified and fire you? Are you paralyzed from moving forward because you don’t think you have all the knowledge/experience/characteristics to get to a higher level? Do you compare your accomplishments to people around you and automatically think they are better and more worthy of success?
These feelings are so common, they’ve been given a name: The Imposter Syndrome. If you suffer from this, it can be a huge obstacle in reaching for what you want. But it’s easier to combat once you know how common it is. It certainly looks like successful people know what they’re doing, but 9 times out of 10, they’re experiencing these same feelings. Keep in mind that none of us really knows what we’re doing. There’s a huge amount of knowledge and experience to gain in any industry. Most successful people have just as much uncertainty and stress around what they’re doing as the rest of us. If they don’t, then they must be stagnant and not learning anything new.
So why would we want to work with stagnant, inflexible people? Wouldn’t we rather work with those who are continually moving forward, constantly learning, being challenged and being authentic enough to tell us when they don’t know something?
So to overcome your own feelings of imposterism, develop an understanding of the idea of constant movement, of challenging yourself and becoming comfortable with what you know and what you don’t know. Stop comparing yourself to others you’ve deemed successful. And stop selling yourself short. At some point, you have to take compliments at face value. You have to trust that people hire you because you can give them what they need. Stop questioning that. The more you practice this, the easier it will be for you to focus on the value you provide.
