3 Steps to Beat Imposter Syndrome
You need to think of your work differently
When I decided to start my website in 2015, I dragged my feet for a while between having the idea and acting on it. I couldn’t shake the worry that I was being somehow silly, or self-absorbed. “There are a million blogs out there,” I thought. “Why should I start another one?”
Eventually, I recognized that worry for what it was: impostor syndrome.
There are lots of ways our feelings of inadequacy can surface. We might say to ourselves, “I’m not the right person for this” or “I just know I’m going to get called out.” Or, if you’re like me, you might look at what you’re creating, and ask: “Does the world really need this?”
Those feelings are especially common when we start something new, share our ideas, or become new leaders. According to a paper published in the International Journal of Behavioral Science, more than 70% of people in the United States have felt like a fake at least once.
But impostor syndrome is rarely a sign that you’re going down the wrong path. Most of the time, it’s simply a defense mechanism against failure and disappointment. When we try to talk ourselves out of pursuing our goals, when we try to convince ourselves that our work isn’t important, we’re avoiding whatever it is we need to do. We…
