Do you feel like a fraud?
This week I want to take a dip into imposter syndrome, the feeling of not being good enough to be associated with a seemingly more successful group of people or situations.
Traditionally I’ve felt imposter syndrome the most when I’ve been around highly academically intelligent and accomplished people. Since my childhood, I’ve always looked up to the academically gifted and accomplished of the human race - much like one of my uncles who’s helped build satellites. So when I’m around people of his calibre whether it’s a social or professional setting, I definitely feel a little bit “less”.
Most of my imposter syndrome has happened to me in a professional setting though, when I’m in a meeting with higher ups or a few PhDs. Thoughts such as “I really shouldn’t say anything, it’ll probably just be wrong” or “Person X is the expert in that area, not me, I’ll let them deal with those questions”.
Here’s a visual representation of the reality of these situations.
Being able to recognise when we’re feeling a bit of imposter syndrome is the only real way to accept it and move forward. We all have different triggers points and ideally we should all be feeling a bit of imposter syndrome from time to time if we’re pushing ourselves to the edges of our comfort zone.
For example, I’ve convinced myself that the perk of being the ‘dumbest guy in the room’ is that I’m surrounded by people who are smarter than me in certain areas - a great opportunity to learn!
Here are a few other ways I deal with feeling like an imposter:
I remind myself of the things I’ve accomplished and the boxes I’ve ticked - even if they’re not relevant here
I then see which of my experiences I can bring to the table to enrich the ideas in front of me
Lastly, I remind myself that being a beginner is always an opportunity to level up and learn something new
Imposter Syndrome Videos 📺
❒ How you can use Imposter Syndrome to your benefit by Mike Cannon-Brookes via TED 🧢
❒ What is imposter syndrome and how can you combat it by Elizabeth Cox via TED 🎭
Something to Try 🎨
❒ Make a list of your strengths. If you’re having a hard time listing what your strengths are, start with all the times someone’s thanked you. 💪
❒ Next time you’re feeling like an imposter, make note of the hard work you’ve put into becoming better over the years. 📝
I feel a bit of imposter syndrome every single week I write this newsletter - but I send it anyway.
As always, feel free leave me an email reply to (pav@goalpostspp.dev).
Until next week,
Pavan
Reply - pav@goalpostapp.dev
Tweet - @pavanraju023
Written with ❤️ from Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺